Eternal Hours
by Chimera of Ebony
Summary: Rated for violence, angst, torture and mild swearing. Leo and Raph are captured by Hun and Shredder, only to be tortured in the worst way ever. To believe each other are dead...
1. Prologue

So, my first TMNT fanfic. Beware, mega Leo and Raph-scentric.

I do not own the turtles, though I'm sure everyone reading this is aware of that...

So, many of you may find this odd, but the complete prologue and first chapter is written while listening to "Holding out for a Hero", from Shrek2. I simply have a thing for that song...

If you have troubles with torture, blood and swearing, I suggest you find another fanfic. There isn't much yet, but it will come later on. Don't like it, don't read it. On the other hand, if you like it, please review. I won't continue on the story, if no one responds to it.

Thoughts are written in _Italic_.

Enjoy...

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Prologue:

"That's it, Leo," Raphael hissed at his brother, spinning around. The blue cladded turtle quickly grabbed his brother by the arm, forcing him to stay put. Leo gave Raph a stern look. He wasn't the leader for nothing.

"Listen," he sighed, honestly not knowing what to do with his brother, "I understand you stroll off alone on the surface late at night, and that's fine enough." Raph's eyes turned to slids, somewhat knowing what his brother was going to say. Another lecture for another night, before he would trail off again.

"But it's every night, Raph," Leo continued, hoping to reach into the mind of his younger brother, "Why can't you just tell us what's wrong?" Raph chuckled lowly to himself. He eyed the leader of the group, his eyes turning even smaller.

"You wanna know, what's buggin' me?" Raph growled angrily, sweeping Leo hand away from his arm, "That I can't live my damn life by myself." Leo blinked at that, seeing his brother turn away from him and dissapear up through a manhole.

Leo sighed. Usually, Raph had gone out in the middle of the night, without anyone seeing him, before it was too late. But this night, Leo had been awake and waiting for him, obviously to his brother's annoyance. The big question now was, whether or not he should run after Raph.

_'One day,' _Leo thought to himself, _'He's gonna get into trouble...' _With another sigh, the leader decided on what to do, turning around to go back to the Lair. Entering the kitchen, he quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, writing a note to both his father and brothers on where he was. He placed the note on the table, turned around and headed after the hot-head...


	2. Get outta my life!

Alright, chapter one.

Enjoy.

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With a snort, Raph jumped from rooftop to rooftop, trying to cool off. He stopped on one of the buildings, looking around the city. There had been a lot of crime going on lately, and it was the perfect opportunity to get out with some of the rage lying inside his body. He smiled to himself, placing himself in a frog position with his elbows on the upper part of his legs.

Tonight was quiet, unfortunately. Far away, a siren from an ambulance could be heard, but that wasn't of his interest. Instead, he smirked at the sound of an alarm going off nearby.

"Showtime..." he whispered to himself, jumping off the roof and landing behind a dumpster to see what was going on.

"Be careful with that," a bulky man cried at the smaller one carrying a large box into a van, "They have to be intact, moron!" The smaller one scolded at him, firmly putting the box down.

"I don't get it, what does he want with that stuff?" the smaller one complained, kicking a small can with his right foot towards the dumpster. Raph kept quiet.

_'What the heck are they stealin'?'_ he asked himself, eyeing the boxes. But there weren't any clues on them. He smiled to himself. Time for some action. He jumped high into the air, landing on top of the vehicle.

"Haven't your mama told you, it's not nice to take other people's things?" he smirked at them, making both men gasp in surprise. Jumping down, he made a fist hit the smaller one, sending him to the ground. He looked firmly at the other, as the thug drew a gun from within his jacket, pointing it at the turtle.

"You are so dead," he hissed, firing the gun. Raph made a jump, landing behind the man and kicked him in the back, making him fall forward. With a scared look, both men got up to run away. The red-cladded turtle grinned to himself, watching the two rush off. But something was wrong, even for Raph to see. He looked at the dumpster, he had hid behind from before, slowly walking over to it and looked suspiciously at the bullet in it.

"It's either him having a lousy aim," he frowned, "Or the bastard not aiming at me..."

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Leo scouted the city, looking for Raph when the shot went off.

_'Oh no,'_ the turtle thought to himself, sure hoping he wouldn't find Raph lying in a pool of blood, when he reached him. He firmly got down from the building he was at and landed on the ground, only to see Raph standing normally before him.

"What are **you **doing out here?" Raph groaned at his brother, folding his arms before him. Leo blinked. He had at least prepared himself to see Raph in the middle of a fight.

"I-" the leader started, "I heard gunshot..."

"Which means you were out looking for me," Raphael interrupted him, before he had time to explain himself, "Go home, Leo."

"No way!" Leo finally yelled at his brother. This time, he had had enough, "I am **not** going home without you, Raphael." Raph blinked. Leo was really angry now, but the red-cladded turtle was even more stubborn.

"Who are you to decide that? Yeah, you're my brother and the leader, but that doesn't give you the right to decide where I go!" Raph's eyes sparkled with pure anger.

"Just stay away from me, Leonardo... Just stay out of my life."

Leo couldn't say a word. He was both surprised and shocked at his brother's words. He had thought, he had prepared himself for everything, but those words had hit him a little too hard.

"Fine," Leo answered, turning around and left the street, creeping down a manhole nearby. Raph was about to say something, grab his brother and hold him back, but all he could do was to reach out and open his mouth.

_'Leo...'_ he silently thought, knowing it was too late, _'I -'_

"I didn't mean it..." he whispered to the empty air, looking at the manhole. He had really screwed things up this time. He wanted to run after his brother, tell him how sorry he was for the hard words and that he didn't mean a single thing of what he had said. But he paused, suddenly feeling someone behind him.

"Leo...?" he asked, turning around to face the dark shadow behind him. With a gasp, he watched the large figure come closer, stepping into the light.

"Family problems," the blond man chuckled at Raph, scratching the scar on his cheek, "How cute." Raph growled, drawing his Sais. Around him, several foot ninjas landed, blocking all ways out of the circle.


	3. Battleground! the beginning

Weee, chapter 2. Thanks for the tons of reviews, I was really happy to see all of them…

Enjoy

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Leo slid down the manhole, closing it firmly behind him. Going down the ladder, he landed in the bottom, prepared to go home. But something held him back. Raph's words. They had argued a lot in the past, screaming at each other and even worse things. However, being told to stay out of his brother's life? For good? He scratched the back of his head, trying to think of what to do.

_'I need to talk to him,' _he told himself, going up the ladder again. He stopped midway, hearing something. Metal hitting metal... Leo flew up the manhole, sweat dripping from his forehead. He had a bad taste in his mouth. He removed the cover as fast as he could, just in time to see his brother fall to the ground.

"NO!" Leo cried in fear, not knowing how hard the strike had been. Hun looked over at him, the evil smile slowly appearing on his face. The bulky man placed his foot on Raphael's shell. And that worried Leo. Raph didn't move… The blue-cladded turtle hissed and ran towards Hun, drawing his katanas in a swift movement. Suddenly, ten ninjas landed in front of him, blocking his way. But that couldn't stop him. All that mattered at that second was his brother. He slashed towards a ninja and kicked another, soon making him all fall to the ground.

"Get away from him…" Leo hissed at Hun. Slowly, Hun removed his feet from the turtle and took a defensive stance, eyes focused on Leo. The turtle flung himself at Hun, holding up the right katana to strike as soon as he was close enough. With a high-pitched scream, Leo swiped his sword at Hun, missing the large human only by inches. Hun grabbed a bo staff from one of the fallen ninjas.

"This is the end, freak!" he cried at Leo, hitting the turtle as soon as Leo turned around to deliver a second strike.

"Yah!" Leo gasped, feeling the bo connecting with the back of his head. He fell on his knees and shaked his head, trying to clear his vision from the black carpet surrounding him. But it only made it worse. Footsteps slowly approached him. From where? Leo sharpened his senses, but to no avail. The blow hadn't hit as perfectly as it could, knocking him out cold, but it had done enough damage to make him perplexed.

Hun smiled to himself, watching the turtle on the ground. He had a clear advantage. He slowly lifted the bo up over Leonardo, tensing every muscle in his body to make the strike as powerful as possible.

Leo's vision slowly started to clear, but a violent dizziness kept him from standing up.

"LEO, JUMP!" a sharp voice came not far away, and by pure instinct, Leo jumped to the side, hearing the bo swing past him and break, as it was slammed on the concrete. The dizziness made the blue-cladded turtle's stomach turn, but he had to look up, when Hun landed hard behind him.

"Raph, you're alright," Leo exclaimed, watching his brother standing behind him. Raph walked over to him, giving his brother a comforting shoulder to lean against.

"What, ya think a mild blow like that's gonna get rid of me?" he chuckled lightly, "Not a chance." Leo smiled at his brother, slowly starting to see him clearer. The leader's eyes widened at what he saw.

"You're bleeding," Leo said worriedly, seeing the long trail coming from the side of the red-cladded turtle's head. Raph wiped away some of the blood with a small smirk on his face.

"Well," he slightly answered, "Ya have tha' hit hard to make me fall." Leo snorted at that comment, not really finding it funny. He was about to tell his brother, that Don would have to stitch it, but he never got that far. The turtles stopped dead in their tracks, as Shredder landed before them. Both of them gasped, knowing their chances in a fight would be minimal. Making up his mind, Raph set his brother down to rest against a wall and drew his sais at the villain.

"No," Leo pleaded, "You can't fight, you're injured." Raph sighed heavily.

"Try and get outta here, Leo," he said in a low voice, suddenly launching at Shredder.

Leo knew what he was up to. Raph was trying to give him some time to get away.

"_No… He's gonna get killed…"_ a voice rang inside Leo's head. The death of his brother visualized behind the leader's eyelids, and he had to fight the tear trying to break out.

No. He couldn't let his brother go through this - not alone. Leo forced his eyes open, finding his surroundings clearing up faster. Leo lifted his arms to grab the katanas on his back, only to reach the empty air. He looked back, realizing he had let go of them, when Hun had hit him. But where were they now? His eyes searched the ground frantically, finally catching a hint of the glimpsing metal.

Shredder growled, grabbing a sword from his belt. This time, he was ready. The turtles had tried to beat him numerous times, but this time, he would be the winner. He watched the red-cladded turtle coming closer, raising his sword. And he noticed the blood running down the green neck. As Raph ran at him, Shredder stroke and hit the turtle by the shoulder, making Raph drop his sai.

"Aargh!" Raph cried in pain, clutching the soar shoulder. A throbbing pain started burning in his entire arm, making the turtle flinch. Shredder's big opportunity. He sent a flying kick at Raph's head, making him fly into a wall.

Raph hit his injured head into the wall, the blackness hitting him instantly. He fiercely tried to fight it off, but it was too hard. He looked up, seeing his brother run at Shredder with his katanas over his head.

"_Leo…" _The blackness filled the turtles mind…


	4. Battleground! the end

So, here's the next chapter. I hope you're all enjoying it. Some of you might notice a certain phrase from the Battle Nexus game (I'm not gonna tell you which one - you'll have to guess...)

Enjoy

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"Hiiya!" Leo attacked as fast as he could, throwing his blade at Shredder's abdomen. The large figure dodged the strike, aiming his katana at the green enemy, though only hitting the air. Leo jumped, trying to figure out his options. There weren't many. He had to think fast, if he wanted to win, and save his brother…

"You're not gonna win, Shredder," Leo hissed, more to himself than his enemy. With another cry, the leader launched his next attack, this time hitting Shredder's leg. Leo eyes widened. He didn't make a scratch. Shredder laughed evilly.

"You fool," the dark voice boomed, "You can't fight me. I am the most powerful ninja - EVER!" Shredder flung his claws on his glove at Leo, striking his chest. Three gashes opened, streams of blood running down.

A small wince escaped from Leo, but it wouldn't be enough to stop him. Instead, it only made him angrier - and afraid. He had to win. He had to win the battle, save Raph and get him back to the lair. The turtle's eyes slowly turned to see his brother's lifeless body by the wall, and it lit a fire in Leo's mind. No. He had to win.

"I can," Leo cried, ignoring the burning marks on his chest, "I battle for justice and honor - and to protect my family." He launched himself at Shredder, but was quickly cut off by his enemy's sword. Shredder had dodged his attack. Now they stood with only their weapons between them, metal against metal. The first to let his guard down, would loose, and they both knew it. Shredder's eyes turned to slits, calculating his chances. The turtle was too strong for him to break in this position. He needed a distraction. His mind quickly set on a target. With a swift movement, he threw Leo to the side and ran towards Raphael, raising his katana.

Leo hissed, as he was pushed away, but he quickly realized the purpose. His eyes widened in shock, stopping him dead in his track for less than a second. But it was a fatal second. Leonardo sped up, trying to reach his brother before Shredder.

He had to, there was nothing holding him back. With all the strength the young turtle possessed, he pushed himself over Raph, taking the strike from Shredder, as he flung the sword towards them.

Leo screamed in pain, landing next to his brother. His back and left side was burning violently, and he could feel the warm blood running down his skin. He pushed himself upwards, only to feel the burn strike harder, making him collapse on the ground.

"Leave - him alone - Shredder," Leonardo hissed between breaths, looking up. Shredder's eyes gloved a dark red color, looking down at the defeated green creature on the ground. He chuckled darkly, as Hun and several ninjas came to stand behind him. And that was it. Shredder turned away from him and walked past his ninjas without a word, leaving the dirty job behind him.

Hun stared down at Leo, a smirk spreading on his scared features. Suddenly, he grabbed Leo by the shell and lifted him into the air, only to throw him down hard into the pavement.

"Sleep tight…" It was the last thing Leo could hear, before he passed out, slowly feeling the very small trail of blood coming from his mouth and dripping on the ground…


	5. As we all leave

Sorry for the delay. I've been a little caught up with school and such at the moment… But, here's the next chapter! And the awaiting two… Mike and Don! finally enters the story.

Enjoy…

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Michelangelo scooped down another pizza slice, eyes focused on one of the big screens in the "living room". All matters about time and place were gone, and the monsters in the TV took all attention. Don silently walked in from his lab, looking around. All was quiet, except for the screams booming out of the boxes in front of the couch, where Mikey's head popped up from.

But didn't that make it a little… too quiet?

"Hey Mike?" Donnie asked, without getting a single reply. The turtle sighed heavily to himself, walking over to the couch and tapping his brother on the head. Mike looked up, obviously not too happy about getting his eyes drawn away from the "monster-slaughter".

"What?"

"Don't you find it wrong, that Leo and Raph haven't been home in over three hours?"

"No…"

"At 1:30 in the morning?"

Don had a point there. The two had rushed off after one of their usual fights. Raph to get away and Leo to get him back. It had been a slight routine for the past years, but they'd usually returned home before one. He looked up at his brother again, a concerned look starting to form on his face.

"Ya don't think something's wrong, do ya?" he asked. Don slightly shocked his head and rested his arms on the back of the couch.

"Can't say," he replied, looking towards their Sensei's room. With a sigh, he straitened up and waved at his brother. A small nagging feeling was starting to form in his guts, as he walked out into the kitchen, grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil, quickly writing something on it. Placing the pencil on top of the paper, he turned to see his brother in the doorway. It was usually to get Mikey away from the TV, but when it was concerning his brothers, he was always ready, and Donnie knew that. They walked out of the lair in silence, when Mike turned and looked back.

"You don't think we should wake up master Splinter?" the orange-cladded turtle asked, pointing back to the entrance. Don stopped, looking back too.

"We're just going out to check that both of them are okay," he answered, starting to walk again. He wasn't going to tell his brother anything, but going out was probably more to convince himself, that everything was perfectly fine. He knew - or wanted to know… Then why was the weird feeling growing bigger, as they got farther away from their home? It was a matter, science would never be able to explain, and the turtle hated it. He firmly pushed it away, telling himself that his mind was playing with him.

Mikey took one last glance back, before following Donnie. His brother was right. It was nothing but a small trip back and forth, finding the leader and the hothead and return home before Splinter woke up. Just a little tour on the surface. And wasn't it a great opportunity? Surface-surfin' and no one to stop him. Then why did his brother act so serious…?


	6. Divided in a Split Second

I hope you are all ready for this... This is the chapter, where the horror attacks, and surely the last chance to warn you, if you don't like violence and angst.

To all the guys and girls, who haven't turned away yet; I am so greatful for all the many reviews. I am still chocked to find new ones in my mail-inbox. Thanks for that! And now...

Enjoy

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"Leo… Leo come on, wake up…"

Leonardo's eyes fluttered open, feeling the throbbing pain in his head. He looked around himself, noticing how dark it was.

"You' alright?" Raph asked silently beside him, making Leo turned his head towards the voice. He nodded slowly, trying to push himself up in a sitting position. But - he couldn't. He tried to move his arms, but it was no use. He could feel the tight ropes around his wrists, but got up anyway, looking at his brother.

"Where are we?" he asked, seeing Raph was tied too. Nothing unveiled their surroundings, as they had been left in the dark. Not even the walls were visible. Raphael sighed, taking a quick look around, before turning his gaze at the leader, giving out a single respond…

"No clue."

Leo sighed, trying to get his hands free, but it was no use. The ropes were too tightly bound around the wrists. He searched the room for anything sharp, now that his eyes had adjusted more to the dark. It was a small room, with black walls. Leo could spot a door in the other end, without windows or even a knob. Raph had seen it too. He got up and walked over to the door, looking at it, while Leo walked over to him too.

"How the shell do you open this?" he muttered, trying to look for even a small hole. Raph snorted, taking a step back.

"I think I have a way…" he hissed, suddenly launching a kick into the door. He fell backwards, still remaining on his feet and swearing heavily.

"Damn, what's that fucking door made of?" he cried in anger, looking at it with a dark glimpse in the eyes.

Leo blinked, a bit surprised. That kick had been really powerful, and yet his brother hadn't even left the smallest mark. He scanned each corner of the door, and then let his eyes search around the door. Maybe he could find a switch of some sort. But nothing. He turned to Raph with a worried look.

"It's no use," he said to the younger brother, "We have to stay put and wait for someone to open."

"And if they don't?" Raphael quickly retorted, "We can't just stay here and wait for a miracle, Leo."

No. Raph was right. But what else was there for them to do? They were trapped, with no chance of escaping whatsoever. Leo sat down near his brother with a sigh, not saying a word. He hated to think of it, but Raph's words still rang in his head…

"_**Just stay away from me, Leonardo… Just stay out of my life."**_

Over and over. Of all the fights they had had, and that wasn't a few, Raphael had never talked to him like that. Had he really crossed the line by being after his brother this time? He only did it because he cared, because he wanted to know, what was going on in what seemed like a troubled mind. Leo carefully closed his eyes. Raph had meant every word, he had said. If not, wouldn't he have apologized by now? Raph was a true hothead, but he always apologized, when he knew, he had crossed the line. His brother had had all the time in the world, while sitting in the closed room.

'_Never mind that now,' _he sharply told himself. He needed to focus, now wasn't the time for him to loose track.

His trail of thoughts was quickly cut off, when light suddenly hit them, as the door slid open and a pair of ninjas looked down at them. Between them, Hun stepped inside, giving them a wide grin and gestured for the ninjas to grab the turtles. More ninjas stepped inside, being three to hold each turtle and four as a backup. They grabbed Leo and Raph, dragging them out of the room and out in the bright light, making both of them flinch. They couldn't see much, but Leo knew they were still inside.

"Get them in," Hun ordered the foot ninjas. And that made Raph turn. He had had enough. They had been locked inside a dark room, and now they were being thrown into another room? No way. The red-cladded turtle cried in anger, trying to fight off the ninjas holding him, actually knocking one of the off. The four remaining ninjas came to their cohorts' aid, grabbing the turtle and pinned him to a wall. But it wasn't enough. Raph kept struggling in their grasp, the anger pushing all senses out of his mind, when Hun stepped in and hit the turtle on the back of his head, making the bleeding gash open again. Raph gasped, hitting the ground when the ninjas released him. He frantically tried to fight off the dizziness and the sickening feeling overwhelming his stomach.

Leo gasped, instinctively trying to run and help his brother, but was held back.

"I suggest, you two cooperate," Hun said angrily, pulling Raph to his feet. He looked at the turtle with a satisfied smile. This turtle was the worst. He had been right from the start. The human couldn't wait until he got his revenge, and he would - soon enough.

The turtles were brought into a new room, looking around. The walls were painted a red color with black stripes here and there. Torches hang on the wall, being the only source of light in the room whatsoever.

Leo blinked. Wasn't there a shadow sitting in the far end of the room? The figure slowly stood up and stepped into the light. The leader quickly recognized him. Oroku Saki.

Shredder stepped forward, looking at the two. This time, he would finish off the pests, once and for all. His plan couldn't go wrong.

Raph and Leo were thrown on the floor, landing on their knees right in front of their arch enemy. The dizziness surrounding the red-cladded turtles mind hadn't gone away yet, but it was less painful to look up now. He stared down the Shredder, getting a stare back. The smartest thing would have been to look away, but he simply couldn't. The hatred burning in his heart wouldn't let him. This guy was supposed to know exactly what the turtle thought of him. Raph's eyes burned, but lost its spark suddenly.

Shredder slashed the back of his hand against Raphael's cheek, making it sting a bit. Raph didn't care. His head had been pushed aside, but he threw the head back to look at the man before him, when a warm feeling made him aware of something. Small blood drops landed on the floor, and Raph suddenly noticed the blades on Shredder's hand.

Leo flinched. What was all this about in the first place? If Saki wanted to get rid of them, why not just execute them right away?

"What are you up to?" the leader asked in a hissing voice, making Shredder chuckle. The dark-haired man placed his hands on the back, looking firmly from one turtle to the other.

"You," he answered finally, "Have been a thorn in my side for so long." He turned around, giving a short nod to one of the men behind Leo and Raph. Both turtles looked at each other, not sure what awaited them. Shredder glanced back at them.

"Now it is time to repay the troubles."

Leo suddenly felt something hard hitting him from the back and flew forwards with a gasp. On the ground, he turned his body to see Hun's grinning face, as the blond human lifted the jo staff again, sending it towards Leo's shoulder. The turtle cried in pain, hearing a crack from it and a sharp pain shot through his arm.

"YA TWISTED SON-OF-A-BITCH!" Raph cried, getting to his feet surprisingly fast and pushed his shoulder into Hun's abdomen, making the human bent over. But Raph had been too fast. The dizziness and the sickening feeling welted over him like a waterfall, making the turtle almost loose his balance. But he wasn't going down - not yet. He twisted around, sending a kick towards Hun, but the human quickly grabbed it. With a diabolic grin, he twisted the leg around, making Raph fall to the ground with a thud. He growled angrily, trying to drag his foot back to no avail. Hun pulled hard, sending the red turtle through the room and smash into a wall. Raph fell to the ground with a groan, trying to get up, but he couldn't. He felt too tired.

Leo gasped, trying to get up, when a ninja placed his foot on his plastron and held him pinned to the floor. Shredder looked at him, hands still placed on the back.

"I will make a deal," he said in a loud tone for anyone in the room to hear, "You tell me, where the two other turtles are, and I'll spare your lives." Leo blinked. Was he supposed to save himself on the costs of his brothers? The thought made him sick. His eyes turned to slits, as he looked up at the villain, now a true fire of anger burning in his eyes, one that could have been mistaken for the sparks of Raphael's eyes.

"You're sick…" he snorted in reply, making Shredder's mouth turn even more downward than before. He looked at Raph, as the turtle was slowly getting up on his knees.

"You could join my army of ninjas," Shredder continued, walking closer to Raph, though his message was turned to Leo, and the leader was fully aware of that. Standing beside Raph, Saki threw a last glance towards Leo and looked down at the red-cladded.

"You can spare your brother's life," he said, a tone too softly for Raph to bear. Something was wrong. He looked up at Shredder, a small trickle of blood running from his mouth.

"I swear," the turtle spat, "If you even THINK of touching Leo, I'm gonna kick those blades up your ass…"

A quick reply. Too quick. The Shredder blinked, a bit surprised which was soon turned to amusement. He held out one hand and snapped his fingers.

"I resume, that goes for both of you…" he commented. Raph was suddenly grabbed by Hun and dragged away, making the turtle struggle wildly. And so did Leo. A pain shot through his shoulder, as he tried to turn around and get the ninja's foot off, but something told him that he had to. Something was about to happen, and Hun dragging away with his brother was the worst sign he could think of.

'_No,' _a voice cried inside Leo's head, _'We have to stick together…'_

"Let him go!" he cried, a desperate hint of fear creeping into his voice. Hun simply smiled, dragging the bleeding turtle into the room next door.

"NO!" Leo yelled. Now the fear was taking over. A large knob was forming in his guts, one that kept growing and growing, making him feel that it would explode by the huge pressure, leaving him an empty shell. Three ninjas entered the room with Hun, slamming the door behind them.

"RAAAPH!" Leo twisted and slammed a knee into the ninja's leg, making him fall so the turtle could get up. He pushed himself to his knees-

_**Bang**_

And the air was silent. A gun had been fired, and Leo wasn't in doubt of where it had come from. A tear trickled down the fearless leader's eye, as reality slowly hit him.

"No…" Tears started streaming down his cheeks, hitting the floor with low splashes, echoing in the silence. He closed his eyes tightly. It couldn't be, it just couldn't.

"Why…. no…"

But the turtle had been wrong. The large knob didn't go away. It kept pushing, starting to block his air supply and his vision. But it let behind an empty shell…


	7. Crushed

Alright, we are rolling again.

Enjoy…

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It couldn't be. Everything in the room was silent, as the turtle sat on his knees, trying to convince himself, that this was nothing but a dream. A bad dream. Everything was so surrealistic. It had started as one of their usual fights, he and his brother. Like all the other times in their lives. But now - in **his **life…

'_No…' _Fear slowly krept into the mind of the young teenager, as he slowly realized what had happened. His brother had been shot, killed in the room right beside him. A tear slowly found it's way from his eye down his cheek, ending by the chin and finally loosing it's grip, it landed on the ground. The red carpet was slowly getting teardrops scattered on it.

"No…"

"Oh yes," the dark voice chuckled behind him, "You could have saved your brother. And now he is gone… Pity."

They had crossed the line. A desperate search in the turtles mind raged, trying to find something to hold on to, even the slightest hope. But there as nothing. Except for the burning anger, an anger greater than anything he had ever felt before in his life.

"No… Leo… NO!" Raph flung up from his spot and threw himself upwards, facing Hun. This was the last straw. Raphael flexed his muscles and dragged in the ropes holding his wrists, not feeling them cut through his skin.

"NOOOO!" he cried with tears welling up, suddenly breaking the bonds that held his arms in place. Clenching his fists, he lunged at Hun and placed a balled fist into Hun's abdomen, making him bend over. Another one was placed on his back, sending the human to the ground. Raph narrowed Hun. He wanted to kill the bastard, make sure he could never kill anyone again - including his brothers. They had wanted him and Leo to tell them, where Mike and Don was. No. Bloody images hunted the turtles mind, flashing the red color through his mind. With a hiss, he readied a slam with both fists directly at Hun's neck, knowing it would kill him off. Throwing his arms down, he landed tiredly beside the human. His strength was gone, and all he could do now was fall to the ground. He couldn't move a single muscle. All powers had vanished into thin air, as he looked through the wet eyes to see Hun get up again. But did it even matter? Nothing mattered, nothing, not even his damn life. They could kill him off, if they wanted to.

Hun looked down at Raphael. He had gotten atleast a part of his revenge. With a chuckle, he lifted him up to look him in the eyes, but Raph's eyes were closed. He couldn't stand to see his defeat in the eyes. Hun smirked, dragging the turtle back to the cell and threw him inside.

"You are a traitor, you know that?" Hun tormented, as Raph hit the ground without getting up. With that, the human closed the door, leaving the red-cladded ninja alone in the dark.

Raph slowly got up, looking at the door. Locked inside again. He rested his shell against the wall and curled up into a ball. And cried. What now? Tears kept streaming down for a while, until he finally looked up at the ceiling, which was painted black too. Now he didn't even have strength to cry… He closed his eyes, passing out to the never ending sound of the gun firing…


	8. Bloody Search

Sorry for the delay folks, I've been busy…. However, here I am again, ready to grab the thread I had left.

Enjoy.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Michelangelo sighed to himself, feeling water splashing down on him in the cold weather. Why rain, and why now? He looked over at his brother. Donnie stood silently on the rooftop with him, scanning the city for even the slightest sight of their two older brothers. They had been searching for hours. What wouldn't master Splinter think?

"Don…?" he called softly, walking over to the purple-masked turtle, but Don didn't reply. He took a deep sigh, and Mikey could see behind the mask that the turtle was calculating every single option.

"Come on," Mike tried again, "There - must be somewhere we haven't looked." Don blinked slightly.

There was. He slowly lifted his head and turned to look at Mike.

"We try to the east," he replied with a weak smile and started to walk in that direction. Mikey smiled to himself. All hope wasn't lost - it never was. Deep down, he knew they would find their brothers. But Don seemed more skeptical.

The two of them started jumping from rooftop to rooftop, until they reached the eastern end of the city. Mike smiled a bit. The rain hadn't reached this end of New York, though it was still a cold wind greeting them.

"Alright," Don interrupted his thoughts, "I check the roofs, you check the alleys." Mikey slowly nodded and jumped off the roof and out of Don's eye vision. Don closed his eyes for a second.

'_Leo, where are you?' _he questioned in his mind, opening his eyes again. He had to concentrate. With a leap, he landed on the next roof and studied his view. Nothing.

Mikey landed on the ground, quickly looking around for any humans who could see him. But he was safe. Quickly looking out from the small alley, he eyed two men walking down the street.

"Man, you should've heard it, Chris," one of them spoke with a high-toned voice, "It sounded like someone was getting killed or something." The other man shrugged and took out a cigarette from his pocket, litting it.

"I'm telling' ya, this city is dangerous," he took out the smoke of his mouth, studying it as they walked past the turtle without noticing him. Mikey blinked. He didn't like the sound of that… But it could be anyone, Purple Dragons in a fight of some sort, it didn't have to have anything to do with his brothers. Mikey took a step out and went for the next alley, and the next and the next. Still nothing. The orange-cladded turtle looked up to the sound of rumbling. Small drops started to fall on the ground.

"Great," he muttered to himself. Why did it have to rain? He frowned a bit and approached the next alley, when the rain started falling down harder. He walked through the darkness and landed on the other side, looking around with tired eyes. He really needed a rest, though he knew there wasn't time for it. He simply kept walking through the rain, suddenly having a weird feeling hitting him. Wasn't the ground - greasy? He looked down, eyes widening and jumped with a scream. The ground was painted in red around him, and he could see bloodstains on the walls of the buildings. He frantically grabbed for his shell cell, trying to reach his brother. Don picked it up, and a simply "yeah?" was all he got.

"Eh Don," Mike gulped, taking a glimpse at the red pavement. It made his stomach turn over, "There's a lot of red stuff, and I don't think it's paint." The other end of the line was silent for a moment.

"Stay where you are." and the line was cut off. Mikey closed his eyes, placing the shell cell back in it's place. He didn't want to look at the blood anymore. Taking a few steps backwards, he suddenly fell hard on his shell, when he tripped over something. He jerked his eyes open and moved his foot, looking down at a bloody weapon on the ground.

'_No…' _he slowly reached out for the weapon on the ground. It couldn't be.

"Raph's sai…" The truth slowly hit him, making him unable to move.

"Mikey?" Don asked from behind, as he had finally reached his brother. He looked down at him, noticing the sai in his hands. This wasn't good. Don kneeled beside Mikey, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. But Mike still didn't move. He didn't feel the hand on his shoulder being replaced with a hand on each side of him, holding him closer. And he didn't feel the tears streaming down his cheeks, along with the rain…


	9. In Search of Hope

I deeply apologize, really! Exams are taking all of my time at the moment, and they are still attacking me like dogs chase a piece of meat - sigh… And then I've moved away from home and gotten my own place… But enough of that.

Before we start, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Quick Shot, who I'm praying for tonight - Hope is stronger than Death...

Here's the next chapter.

Enjoy…

The roads were silent, except for the footsteps walking through the rain. Michelangelo's eyes were mainly focused on the wet concrete, though not seeing much of it. Visions flashed through his head - what had happened to Raph, to Leo? They had found the last Sai, lying behind a dumpster near the alley. The turtle looked up, only to see his brother walk before him. None of them had spoken a single word since… their findings. Mikey winced slightly in the cold rain.

"Don…?" he asked uneasy, trying to catch his brother's attention. Donnie slowly turned his head. The rain made it impossible to what were tears and what was rain. The purple-masked turtle gave out low sigh.

"Yeah," he replied. Mikey stopped dead in his tracks, the words he was supposed to say getting stuck somewhere between his throat and lips.

"I," the turtle tried, taking a pause, "Shouldn't we go back? I mean, to tell Master Splinter?" Donnie looked to the ground. Blood still stained the pavement, making a small line through the streets.

"No. We have to follow the track before the rain washes it off," Donnie's voice sounded dry and rough. Of all the things in the world, he would have wished that they could run back to the lair for help. The urge to see their Sensei and tell him everything burned through his entire body, screaming for him to get help - but it could mean everything. Leo would have known what to do… Don sighed again. The trail of blood was starting to wash off and the turtle really hoped they could reach their brothers before it disappeared. With a nod, mostly to himself than to his brother, Don turned again to follow the red trail. And oddly enough, the trail led them away from the large skyscraper with the Foot logo on it. The purple-cladded turtle shivered, seeing the trail started to disappear before their eyes.

'_No…' _a voice screamed in his head. This couldn't be the end, he needed something to lead him towards his brothers, and now the rain was taking it all away from him.

"No," he started moving faster, trying to catch the last few glimpses of the blood getting washed away. Small marks in the concrete caught the blood, leading it along the streets with the rainwater and disappeared down a manhole.

"No!" he cried, falling to his knees. Donnie was desperate. Why was this happening to him? Why couldn't be one of the normal days, with Raph leaving the lair and coming back early in the morning like he used to do? At that moment, Don hated Raph for walking out like he did. What good did it do - could it really be so hard to hang around his own brothers in their own home? It was like the hothead was trying to escape his life by strolling off for adventures. Sure, it gave a good adrenaline rush to catch the Purple Dragons committing their crimes, stopping them and knowing they had served the city - again. But… Don was lost. The world would have spun around him, if it hadn't been for the fact, that his eyes were closed. A warm hand landed carefully on his shoulder, giving a soft squeeze. Donatello didn't move. His mind was still lost somewhere in the darkness, the rain pondering down on him didn't matter, the hand on his shoulder didn't reach him - everything was lost in the dark.

"Bro," a voice tried to reach him through the blackness and the turtle eventually opened his eyes, only to feel the pain coming at him harder, seeing that every single bloodstain on the road was gone.

"Come on, bro, we're gonna find them…" Mikey's voice was shaking lightly, as he looked down at his brother. He wasn't so sure about what he had said though. The sight of Raph's bloody sai had caught him off guard earlier and the feeling of not knowing what to do was still hanging around him - but he just couldn't give up. He refused to believe that his big brothers were dead.

"Are we?" Don's voice scared the young turtle. It sounded so dark, so - lifeless. Donatello's gaze rose, looking up, "It's too late, we're never go-"

"NO!"

The words echoed through the streets, sending the few pigeons on the rooftops fleeing for cover. Mikey's eyes were closed, tears streamed down his face, meeting his clenched teeth on the way.

"I'M NOT GIVING UP, DONNIE," he cried, his fists turned into tight, white knobs, "Master Splinter always says that one mustn't loose hope, and I won't! I'm gonna find them, with or without your help." With that, the youngest ninja turtle turned his shell to his brother, continuing down the wet roads in search of his family…


	10. Try to understand

Again, I thank you all for the many reviews - it simply wouldn't be the same without you guys. I don't have the time to write a special thanks and a note to each of you, though I'm sure I'll find a way to make it up to you at one point… Again thanks… Other than that, I apologize for not writing for a long time. Work is slowly beating me down - but I'm back.

Enjoy.

Leo rested his head in his arms, sitting on the cold floor. Tears slowly ran down his face, though getting fewer in numbers. There weren't any tears left. He looked up, a distant gaze hitting the walls before him, as he pressed his knees closer to his plastron. He couldn't believe it - Raph was really gone, there simply was no other option. What a leader… He had dedicated his training and his entire life to protect the ones he cared for. And he had failed.

"Raph…" he sighed, slamming the back of his head against the wall, trying to fight off the headache tormenting him. It helped for a small time, but came back again, increased. A thought suddenly hit him - if Raphael had been shot, had he suffered? Apparently not. If he had, wouldn't he have heard a scream or something telling him, that his brother hadn't died instantly? It somehow calmed the turtle down to think, that Raph hadn't been lying in pain, that Hun had finished him off fast. But it also made him sick to think of it. Leo slowly pushed himself up from the floor, when a pain shot through his side, making him stop dead in his tracks. With a hiss, he looked down at his left side. Memories started overwhelming him, looking down at the large scar running from his side and continue up the shell - but something wasn't right. He gently let a finger strike the mark, feeling something under the small bloodstains. It had been stitched.

'_Why would Shredder stitch me, if he planned to kill one of us?' _the turtle asked himself in his mind. It didn't make sense - unless Shredder had had it all planned from the start… Leo pushed himself up again, grimacing at the pain. Finally standing up straight, he eyed the door with a growl. It couldn't be a coincident, it simply couldn't. And if their nemesis had planned this so fully detailed, he could lurk his brothers into a trap like this -

"Shit," Leo suddenly cursed. It was a perfect plan. Of coarse, Don and Mikey would be out looking for them, maybe Master Splinter and April too. The Foot only had to wait for them to fall in the net, and all hope would be out. He clenched his fists. Raph was gone, but he wasn't going to let Shredder touch the rest of his family.

'_I swear,' _he told himself, _'I will get out of here and get revenge…'_

The door suddenly swung open, a pair of ninjas starring at the turtle and finally walked in. Leo's eyes turned to slits. Maybe this was his chance. When the two ninjas came to take him away, he followed without a struggle, nor a word.

He was led down the hallway to the same room as before, and he was ready to face both the Shredder and Hun inside - but they weren't there. A little surprised by the fact, Leo stopped, but was abruptly pushed forward by one of the Foot.

"Move it," the ninja grumbled, giving the turtle another push. Leo frowned. Of all things in the world, he mostly wanted to turn around and hit the human behind him, send him to the floor with a single punch - but he couldn't. The time wasn't right for his move yet. He started walking again, slowly realizing where they were going. Gunshots rang through his head, as he eyed the door they were reaching a little too quickly for his mind to adjust to. With a sickening feeling growing for every step he took towards the door, he was about to colapse as the door was opened - and the stench of old blood hit him like a brick in the face.

"I welcome you back, Leonardo," the dark voice echoed through the room. As the turtle looked up, his eyes came into contact with Shredder's. Hun was standing right beside him.

"You have the witness before you," the metal figure said in a very neutral tone, gesturing towards a puddle of dried blood, "And you still refuse to join my group of ninjas?"

"This can't be, what it's all about, Shredder," Leo hissed. There had to be more to it. There had to be a better reason for the massacre. Shredder grinned, approaching the turtle slowly.

"Oh, but it is. And I want to know the position of the other turtles." The smile on Shredder's face never vanished, not even when the human was so close to Leo, that he could reach out and touch him. Leo grimaced, letting a finger go over the stitches in the side.

"You have noticed, that I have taken care of your bruises," Shredder continued firmly, "Would one have done that, if it was not for a reason?" Leo blinked. That was true - and he had been wondering, why he had been stitched.

"I - still don't understand…" Leo muttered in a low voice. He was confused, and seeing the blood lie before him didn't exactly make things better.

"But you will… I will give you the night to think about my offer," Shredder replied, turning around. He placed his gaze on three ninjas.

"Take him back."

And they did, the turtle still not struggling. As Leo was thrown back into the dark cell, the leader thought of a way to escape - and warn his brothers about what was happening. Even though he knew he had to move fast, he couldn't push himself to try and run. He was in a trance, red puddles forming before his eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. He had lost Raph, now how would he manage to save his two other brothers? He felt like a failure - scared and tired, he sat down on the cold floor, staring at the wall before him. For minutes, for hours…


	11. Breakdown! the beginning

**Alright, another chapter. Hope this is still as interesting as it was in the beginning.**

**Enjoy… **

Gunshots. Raph opened his eyes in frustration. Had it all been a dream? No. He remembered now, sitting in the dark, cold cell… without his brother. With a deep sigh, he sat up and rubbed his templates, a single trickle of a tear starting to run down over his cheek. His mind was dark. Raphael was sitting, for the first time ever in his life, really alone. He still couldn't believe what a jerk he was. If it hadn't been for him, Leo would still be alive. He got up slowly, ignoring the pain from his muscles and wounds. His goddamn life didn't matter to him anymore. In a moment of rage, mostly towards himself, he started beating the wall, not noticing the blood starting to run down his knuckles. It didn't matter. With a thud, the once mighty and harsh turtle fell to his knees, wishing to just die. All these years, and what had he done to his brothers? Cost them worries, that's what he had done. He hadn't thought about his attitude before now - no wonder Leo was always mad at him…

No. He was lying to himself now. Leo had only been mad at him, whenever there was a reason for it. He had been the mad one. The turtle closed his eyes, not noticing the door open and reveal a pair of ninjas looking down at him. They grabbed him by the arms, dragging him out of the cell and into a red room. Still, Raph didn't notice anything. Inner demons tormented his mind, and they never left - until a familiar voice was heard.

Shredder.

Raph didn't hear what the human had to say.

"Why haven't you just killed me?" he asked tiredly, not looking up. Shredder stood right beside him, and the turtle knew it. He could sense him.

"Because I promised Leonardo not to," the voice answered, making Raph's eyes fly open and looking up with a questioning look.

"The deal was simple," Shredder continued, "I spared your life, in return of his…"

Wasn't that typical Leo? Never thinking about himself. Raph hated his brother for that. How could Leo do this to him? Leaving him in enemy hands with this feeling of emptiness and loneliness plaguing him, tormenting him.

"Now," Shredder turned his back to Raph, "You can do the same thing." The enemy turned his attention back to the turtle, the diabolic smile growing bigger.

"Tell me, where I can find the other turtles, and I'll spare you all. If not:" He snapped his fingers, making Hun come to his side.

"You will join your brother…"

'_As if it matters,' _ Raph thought to himself without answering. Shredder blinked at the silence.

"You can think this over," he tried, though soon to be interrupted by his prisoner.

"I don't need to think anything over!" Raphael bellowed angrily, pushing himself to stand up in an offensive stance, "Just show me, what you got Tin-can." It was obvious, that Raphael tried to make Shredder fight him. And why not? The turtle stood no chance against his nemesis, but would make his death quicker. Raph had expected Shredder to launch at him. But instead, he just laughed. The turtle wasn't about to give him any answers, Shredder knew that - and it made him feel strong. With a twist, Shredder turned to leave with a sentence as a last gesture.

"He's yours, Hun."

The blond man grinned evilly, cracking his knuckles and approaching Raph.

He was going to die. The fear slowly crept into the turtle's mind, but he stood his grounds. This was what he wanted - wasn't it? Raph smiled to himself. Dying in battle wasn't so bad; it was all just a matter of time before he would lie on the floor, in the puddle of dried blood from his brother mixed with his own. And then he launched, throwing himself at Hun with all of his might and an angry scream, managing to hit the man hard enough in the face to break his nose. Hun cried in pain, but was swept off his feet before he could react. Hun got up again, facing the turtle.

"You are dead meat," the human hissed, suddenly grabbing a knife from a small pocket in his belt. Normally, it would have been a fact that the young teenage turtle would have thought of. It was another matter dodging a knife than a fist, Splinter had taught him that. But suddenly, all of his training didn't matter. He just kept his position, waiting for Hun to strike.

And the human did. With a loud roar of anger, the human thrusted the knife into Raph's abdomen, the blade penetrating the hard plate and the skin. Blood slowly started dripping from the wound, and Raphael hissed in pain. The knife was drawn out, suddenly to be planted in his side instead. Raph slowly lost track and count of the knife and the holes it was poking in him. The pain was overwhelming, leaving a sick feeling in his guts. His instincts told him to defend himself. And he would have, if it hadn't been for the nagging voice inside his head, telling him how big a failure and a pain he was. He had let his brother die. He should have protected him.

'_But I tried!' _another voice called, from the deepest of his mind, leaving some energy for Raph to push Hun away. The turtle collapsed on the ground tiredly. His eyes burned heavily, but no tears came out. The pain was holding them back…

"You know," Hun grinned as he stood over Raph's body, "You can still save the others." With a broken-hearted look, the red masked ninja looked up.

"How?" he coughed, pushing himself to his knees.

"They are on their way," Hun continued.

'_No,' _Raph's eyes widened. They couldn't. Not now, they would be killed - just like Leo. Raph couldn't bare the thought. His mind was at that moment only focused on one thing…

To lead his brothers away.

Hun turned his back to the turtle walking towards the exit. He grabbed the handle of the door, before looking back towards Raph.

"Let's make a deal," Hun said in a very amused voice, "If they find you, I'll kill them. If not, I'll spare them." he walked out of the room and closed the door firmly behind him, leaving a shocked Raphael behind him.

"This is too easy," he thought to himself, grabbing a small walkie talkie in the belt.

"I think we got them…" he grinned into it. In the other end, Shredder sat with a wide grin. The turtles were separated. The two of them were broken. They didn't stand a chance…


	12. A Call from the Dead

I'm so glad that I got so many rewievs. I can't thank you guys enough. However, on to the next chapter - it's gonna be a harsh one. By the way, I've written this chapter while listening to "Sound the Bugle" from Spirit - Stallion of Cimarron by Bryan Adams...

Enjoy…

The rain was still pouring down outside, landing hard on the shell of the lone turtle, a turtle who was still searching for something to hold on to. Mikey frowned to himself. Leo and Raph were alive. He could feel it deep down, still trotting further into the city, hidden in the dark. A low sniffle escaped him. What if - they weren't alive? With the rain still hitting him hard in the face, Michelangelo looked up at the new moon.

"I'm gonna find you," he whispered to himself, standing still and looking upwards. The stars were hidden somewhere behind the dark clouds, but the moon still shone down on him.

"Both of you…"

He slowly walked into an alley, looking for just a small clue. What he found, was a lone man lying next to a dumpster, clad in a large trench coat. A small voice trickered Mikey to take a closer look. What if it was one of his brothers? The shadow looked up, a pair of gray-blue eyes looking up, though there wasn't much life behind them. Apparently, the human was too tired or too drunk to notice that the person standing near him wasn't like himself - but an amphibian.

Mikey hurried on to the next alley, before the man would start to wonder, what he had seen.

"LEO!" the young turtle cried into the night sky, as if he was waiting for a voice to call back to him. But the air was silent, at least until a new cry plunged through it again.

"RAPH, WHERE ARE YOU!"

And as if it had worked, the shell cell rang. Mikey froze. Was it Donnie? Or maybe one of the others? It could also be Splinter, having awoken from his sleep and found the lair empty. It could be April or Casey… Finally waking up from the trance, Mikey grabbed it and could only stammer a low "Hello?" into it.

"Mikey?" a horse whisper responded.

"Raph, where are you? Where's Leo? Are you okay?" Mikey hysterically asked, his heart beating faster and faster, making it almost unbearable. The other end was dead for a second, though he could hear his brother breath.

"Raph, please…"

"Don't look after me," came the respond back, making Mikey pause. Why not? He could hear that something was wrong. Raph was fighting something back. And why was it only 'me' and not 'us'? What about Leo?

The rain started beating down harder, just as Mikey's heart did. Thunder was heard in the distance.

"Why, what happened Raph?"

"It -" Raph's voice fainted away, his breathing sounding louder in the shell cell, "It doesn't matter. Just stay home with Donnie and Sensei…"

"NO!" Mikey yelled, tears starting to stream down his eyes. His chest was hurting, he was afraid. The thunder was slowly approaching. He could even hear it two seconds later in the other end of the cell phone.

"I'll find you, Raph. I'll find you and Leo and-"

"Leo's gone, Mike," Raph snapped, sobs echoing through the line, "I couldn't save him…"

Mikey's heart stood still. It couldn't be. His oldest brother couldn't be gone, not now, not ever. When they were kids, Leo had promised to keep the monsters away from beneath his bed, for the rest of their lives. Mikey had believed him. He couldn't be gone, it was wrong.

"R-Raph…" Mikey sobbed slowly gaining a little control of himself, "Please tell me where you are." Mikey awaited the answer, listening to the hors breathing from his brother. It was getting rapid. Mike could almost feel Raph panicking in the other end.

"No, "NO! I - I can't Mikey, please just stay away, I beg ya…" Raph's voice cracked. He was crying. The thought of his toughest brother ever crying, made the turtle even more afraid. He knew Raph well, more than anyone would have ever known. Raphael wasn't crying from pain or because he was sad - he cried, because he was afraid… Mikey was terrified. What had happened to his brother, and who had killed Leo? So many questions were building up inside of him, and he couldn't even get Raph to tell him, where he was.

"Raph,"

"Mike, they'll kill ya if ya find me," Raph roared, "Just stay the hell away from me!" With that, the line was broken, leaving Mikey with the thunder as the only sound around.

"Raph…" Mikey whispered, sinking to his knees. His mind was a big mess, all the thoughts twirling around like they were caught in a tornado. But he couldn't turn around now. Raph needed him, though he didn't want the help.


	13. A Run for Hope

Well, I know it's been quite some time - and I'm sorry for that. It's just that so many things lately has occupied my mind, giving me a huge writer's block. But it's gone now…

Enjoy.

The shell cell dropped to the floor, along with the three-fingered hand holding it. Raph's breathing was getting slower. He closed his eyes, still feeling a very small trickle of a tear running down his cheek. He couldn't cry anymore. He was exhausted, he could barely move from his spot, not even get up or just fall down to lay on the carpet. The pair of red eyes started to scan the room, finding it empty.

'_You can run…' _a small voice whispered inside Raph's mind. And it was right. He could easily flee from the room. He was a ninja, and everything he needed to know, had been taught to him by his sensei - and Leo.

Raphael flinched, his body arching. Leo had actually taught him more than he had given him credit for. The times that Splinter hadn't been around, Leo had been there, always.

No.

He couldn't run. He could get out of the room and head back to the sewers, pretend that nothing of all this had happened - and base his life on a lie.

The thoughts of escaping made the turtle's stomach turn over. Even if he left the room, even if he left everything behind, he would never be able to run from the fact, that he was the one, who had killed Leo.

He was, it couldn't be questioned. Hadn't it been him leaving the lair in rage? And hadn't he known, that Leo would follow him? It was all his fault, he had started it, he had killed Leo, and he would get his two younger brothers killed…

Raph fell forwards, gasping for air. Images of blood and his brothers lying on the ground tormented his closed eyes, making the world spin around him - he couldn't go on like this. His heart beated faster than ever before, as he slowly realized the fact that he had prayed would never even be suggested - the Shredder had won…

"A prisoner has escaped!" a voice suddenly boomed out on the corridor, "I repeat, a prisoner has escaped!" Raph slowly lifted his head, his eyes opening slowly. He hadn't escaped. He was right where Hun had left him - unless, it wasn't him they were referring to…

The turtle jerked his tired body upwards and looked at the door, finding it not closed completely. Had Hun really been that clumsy? Or maybe it was on purpose, so he could hear the alarm and think Leo might still be - alive! Raphael got to his feet surprisingly fast, his breath wheezing, as he got closer to the door to take a peak outside. Foot members ran through the hallway at full speed, they were all there. He even saw an elite member on the run.

So it couldn't be a trick. It had to be Leo, he wanted it to be Leo. As soon as the coast was clear, he flew out the door and tailed after the Foot, staying close to the walls and shadows with the stealth of a true ninja. His confidence was somewhat back, the alarm telling about a prisoner escaping putting new hope into Raphael's mind. There was still hope. The turtle got to a stop, when he found himself facing five Foot members. His breath and heart stopped for a second, when the five ninjas turned their heads to look directly at him, all with each their weird look in their eyes. It hadn't been him, they had expected to find, Raph was sure of it. The uneasiness in their faces told him promptly that he was right. He spun around, only to face a pack of other Foot.

"Shit…" Raph exclaimed with a whisper, realizing the fact that he was caught - again. But he wasn't down yet. Raphael flung at an opponent, knocking the Foot to the ground, before he was encountered by the rest of the gang.

Raphael was in no shape to fight. He was overpowered easily, taken to the ground and pinned down, only to look up to face the shining metal covering the Shredder's face.

"You are not an easy prisoner, turtle," he hissed, the red eyes behind the mask closing in a thoughtful moment. Shredder turned away to walk back through the hall.

"We don't have time to play 'Cat and mouse'. Finish him off…"


	14. When Walls will Talk

Alright, I suddenly had a stroke of a need to write. But now I'm extremely tired. My inspiration for this chapter was Celine Dion's: "If walls could talk"...

I'll use this chapter to introduce a new character. Whether or not she has a meaning for the story… only time will tell.

Enjoy…

A small stroke of light hit the turtle in the face, making him lift his head slightly. Where the heck did it come from. He scanned the wall, suddenly noticing the small hole.

"What the-" he asked himself, letting a finger stroke the hole, when something sharp hit him. With a yelp, Leo pulled his hand back, noticing a small cut in his finger. It could have been a needle or something like that, but it surely couldn't be bigger. He tried to look inside the hole, noticing the small sharp thing scratching back and forth in a monotone manner, like a machine.

His curiosity quickly taking the better of him, he examined the thing closer. With a swift movement, he pinned the small, scratching needle down to try to stop it's movement. He had expected it to try and continue, as if a wheel or something was keeping it from stopping, but it wasn't the reaction, he got. The needle was pulled back fast, followed by a girl's scream of surprise. Leo almost screamed as well, though being the tough male he was, he kept it inside his throat.

"Is - someone there?" he hesitantly called into the hole.

Silence. Until he could hear movements on the other side of the wall.

"Uhm… Yeah…" the reply came back. It was definitely a female, "Who's there?"

Leo blinked slightly, but knew the most right and logical thing was to answer - though he found it a bit akward.

"My name is Leonardo," he stated, giving up on trying to see through the hole. It was simply too small. Leo awaited a reply from the person on the other side, but as he didn't get any, he tried to search for one himself.

"What's your name?"

Seconds past slowly, when a small sniff was heard.

"It doesn't matter…"

"Why not?" Leo questioned carefully. He was unsure what else to say, the whole situation didn't seem right. He wasn't even sure, whether or not this person was in the same situation as him - or maybe he was. There was a hint of sadness behind the voice every time she spoke.

"Trust me, it doesn't matter," she retorted, this time a little darker than before.

"Fine," Leo replied, not taking notice of the harsher tone, "But what are you doing here? Are you a prisoner?"

"You could say that," the female sounded more clear now, but the sadness was still there, "I've been here for some time now…"

"But, how long have you been working on the hole?" Leo could sense the girl pause, and suddenly, the small needle came back to the hole and started scratching, again in the same monotone way as before. The female didn't reply, but he could see how slowly it went. It was like only a small piece, nothing more than a corn of sand, was removed every time the needle went over strokes in the hole. Leo quickly got the point. She could have been there for months… If she worked on it constantly.

"Never mind," he sighed. He kept silent for a while, listening to the scratching from the needle, as it dug more of the wall out.

"If you're thinking of a way out," her voice suddenly called, "You're wasting your time. I've tried everything."

"I know there is a way, we just haven't found it yet," Leo got up from his spot, standing in the middle of the cell, "There's always a way, just wait and see." He looked down at the hole again, seeing the needle doing it's rapid work. With a sigh, the blue-masked turtle rested himself against the wall. He stood there for minutes in silence, until he noticed the sound of the needle was gone. A small click from the door in the cell beside him clicked, and a male voice acknowledged "dinner time" and the click from the door sounded again.

So they feed her? That had to mean, that they needed her alive. And it reminded him, that he hadn't gotten anything to eat in ages. The thought itself made his stomach rumble.

"I'd gladly give you some, but it can't fit through the hole…"

Leo chuckled lowly, sitting down.

"You have a pretty keen sense of hearing," he smiled. The smile vanished, when the needle came back into the hole and started scratching.

"Ehm," Leo blinked slightly, "And apparently no appetite."

The female chuckled lowly to herself, but that was all it ever came to, when the door to Leonardo's cell suddenly opened, and a Foot pushed a bowl of brown stuff into his cell - and it didn't look eatable. The thug was about to close the cell door again, but Leo was too quick for him. Before he could react, the turtle had grabbed his head and smacked it into the wall, making him pass out. And that was it. Leo was out of his cell, he could run, find his brothers and get them to safety - but he couldn't leave the girl behind. She needed his help desperately. He turned to the passed out Foot, grabbing the keys on the floor and quickly moved to open the female's door. As he swung it open, the sight surprised him, making him freeze on his spot. In the corner of the cell, sat a small yellow shape with brown stripes up and down it's legs and arms. A fluffy tail twitched behind it, and a pair of brown eyes looked directly at him, out from a cascade of reddish or brown hair that almost reached down to her hips - and a pair of white wings with a hint of blue behind her. Before her stood a plate with raw meat on it, untouched.

"You're a-" Leo trailed off, his mouth dropping. The female didn't say anything. She was atleast twice as surprised as Leo was. She had suspected something else than a turtle, just like Leo had suspected something else than a cat - with wings…

But there wasn't time to stand and look at each other in ave. The Foot would soon wake up and ring the alarm.

"Come on," he said to the cat, reaching a hand out to her, "Let's get out of this place. The feline slowly got up, taking the offered hand. She was still shocked by his looks, but she did as she was told. Dragging her along, Leo ran through the corridors in search of an exit.


	15. Thunder of Hope

Well, here we go again. There haven't been as many reviews as the last times, but that's alright. It's still fun to write this. Some of you may have wondered, why I haven't involved Splinter, but there's a reason for the madness. You just have to wait and see.

Oh, and to answer Katana-Babe's question: I won't tell you. I have something in mind for the two, though not in the way that many of you might think. You'll just have to read it along the way…

And then I'm sorry, that I use the term "kilometer" later on. I don't know how many countries use it, but it's easier than trying to count out the math test later on in the chapter - and by the way, it works…

Anyway, enjoy…

"Mikey?" Don's voice asked lowly behind the orange-masked turtle. Donatello approached his little brother carefully. Mikey was still sitting on the wet pavement with his shell cell in his hand.

"I'm sorry." he tried again, wishing for a reaction. But the curled-up figure didn't move, and it scared Donnie more than anything. He waited for a long minute, his body tensing for every second passing by without a word.

"Please Michelangelo, talk to me. Say something, anything!" he pleaded. And finally, the turtle moved. Mikey slowly moved his head to see Donnie through the corner of his eye, opened his mouth to talk to him, but nothing came out. Reality was too much to handle, as he flung his head back in it's original position. He was shaking violently, his head throbbing - Mikey could have sworn, that he would pass out.

Donatello sighed. He couldn't reach his brother, no matter how hard he tried - but he had too. Approaching the young ninja, he sat down in front of him, trying to look him in the eyes, only to find them closed tightly. Without hesitation, he placed a hand on each of Mikey's shoulders, pressing him upwards. Mikey finally opened his eyes, but they seemed dead on the other side.

"M-mike?" Don stammered, keeping eye contact, "You alright?"

Michelangelo's eyes shut tightly again.

"We can't save them…"

"Of course we can," Don said nervously, "I was wrong before, we can't loose hope. Leo and Raph needs us-"

"No they don't." Mikey abruptly answered, his eyes still closed. He tried to say something, but the words were stuck in his throat.

"Le… Leo's dead…"

Donnie's eyes widened. Mikey seemed so sure in his voice all of a sudden.

"You can't be su-"

"Yes I can!" Michelangelo yelled, breaking away from his brother to stand up straight.

"Leo's dead and Raph doesn't want out help! He… he said so, he told me to stay away from him…" He broke into sobs, obviously shaken, but so was Don. Raph had for some reason contacted them to get them out of the way, but it didn't seem logical. If Raph didn't want them to find him, he could have kept himself from calling - unless someone had made him or that he had felt the need to make them turn around… as if he knew, they were on their way!

"Snap out of it," Donatello commanded, his voice hard, "Maybe he **said**, he didn't want our help, but deep inside, I know he didn't mean it." Don stood up to look at his brother, a flame burning in his eyes.

"Leonardo might be gone, Mikey, but we can't let anything happened to Raphael. Not now, not ever, do you hear me?"

Mikey nodded, not really sure what had happened to his brother. E had never seen such a determination, not even when he was tinkling with his gadgets in the lair. And he believed him. A new hope had been planted in Mikey's soul, the darkness wasn't so deep anymore.

"But - how do we find him?" he asked slowly. Don scratched his cheek quickly, thinking of a strategic fact to use.

"When he called you," Donnie said, still deep in thoughts, "Did you hear anything? Sounds of a motor or such?"

The orange-cladded turtle thought hard. He had only paid attention to Raph's voice - or had he? Something slowly came to his mind.

"Well," he began, suddenly not so sure if the information could lead them anywhere, "I could hear the thunder two seconds later in the cell…"

Mikey looked down on the pavement… why had he even remembered such a stupid thing? Because he had been scared of thunder, when he was younger. They had all been, except for Raph, the toddler who had run out of the lair to try and catch it, before it would come and attack them. Well, if master Splinter hadn't stopped him on the way out and had explained, that the thunder couldn't hurt them, but it was still scary to listen to the first nights.

"You're a genius!" Don cheered, snapping his fingers.

"I am?" Mikey questioned skeptically.

"Sure. If you could hear the thunder two seconds away, that must mean that Raph has been two kilometers away when he called, and that it has been in the opposite direction from the light." Don pointed out in the horizon behind them, "And the light came from that direction. I saw it too, so Raph must be… that way" Don pointed it out, eager to get moving.

Mikey was actually smiling for a second. God, he loved his brother for being so smart, and even in a situation as tight as this one. But something struck him.

"What about Sensei?" Mikey quivered, "He needs to know."

"I-" Don blinked, "I tried calling him, but he didn't answer. We need to call him again later, but we don't have time to go back. This could be a matter of seconds…"

Michelangelo nodded. He understood. But why wasn't Splinter taking his shell cell? He hoped everything was right at home…

"Come on," Don interrupted his thoughts, "Let's find Raph." Mikey nodded, following his brother, as they ran as fast as they could towards the pointed out direction.


	16. Don't Leave

Again, thanks to all who send me a review. It sounds like you enjoy reading the story as much as I like writing it. That can only be a good thing, right? But we aren't really near an ending yet, so you must be patient.

Anyways, enjoy…

The blue-masked turtle came to a stop. Where the heck were they supposed to run? Every time he ran into a corridor, he faced two new ones. Leonardo turned his head to look back at the feline. She wore a pink top and a pair of gray shorts. It had to be warm enough with all that fur. And when standing straight, she was actually taller than him, not much, but still…

"Could I get my hand back?" she quivered in a small voice, making Leo remember that he was still holding it.

"Sorry," he replied, letting go of her. He had been so eager to get out, that he had completely forgotten about it. The cat rubbed her hand lightly, looking around the hall. Quickly, Leo turned his attention back to his surroundings, though there weren't much to see. Everything was painted white, even the floor and the top - it all looked like some kind of hospital, or a laboratory… His eyes carefully searched the walls, when he spotted something. A small map behind glass was placed on the far end of the hallway. Leo almost ran to it, searching for the word "exit" somewhere on it. And it was there, placed in the bottom. And luckily, there was a small red spot, indicating where they were standing. But his gaze fell upon something else as well. In the middle of the map, were the two rooms, where he and his brother had been separated. It was those two rooms, he wasn't in doubt one second. The two rooms were perfectly alike, the door out was placed the exact same place.

"Raph…" his voice trailed off, making the she-cat blink. She carefully approached the turtle.

"Who's Raph?" she carefully questioned, now standing right behind Leo. He raised his head to look back at her, but when the gunshot started ringing in his head again, he threw his gaze down on the ground.

"My brother," he sighed, struggling to hold back the tears that were currently trying to break their way up to the surface, "Shredder took him…"

The she-cat froze, not really knowing what to say. She looked down as well, keeping all thoughts to herself, but broke the silence after a minute.

"I'm… sorry to hear that," she quietly said, looking up again. Leo slowly nodded, swallowing.

"Let's just get away from this place," he replied, turning to the way the map showed to the exit. As he started walking, the cat followed close behind, afraid to get lost.

Leo tried to hold his eyes open for enemies and alarms, but as he looked around at the white walls, the scenes from the past hours covered his vision. Everything from the first fight and until now. And now he couldn't stop wondering, what would have happened, if he hadn't followed his brother, or if he hadn't left him on the street after their fight. He had been a bad leader, and an even worse brother. He sighed deeply to himself, as he continued down the hallways. It was like they lasted forever. Like his guilt. It was like-

"Leonardo, watch out!" the cat suddenly cried, interrupting the turtles thoughts. Leo snapped back to reality, just in time to see a group of Foot ninjas standing before them.

"RUN!" he yelled, grapping the cat by the wrist and pulling her along. She gave out a yelp of surprise, but tried to follow Leonardo the best she could. As they passed a corner, two more ninjas stood with their backs turned to them, thought they turned around by the sound of footsteps. There was no turning back now. He had to fight his way through the hallway, if he wanted them both to get out alive. He released the feline and sprinted towards the two Foot, knocking one to the ground and then turned to the next. This one was harder than the other. The ninja dodged Leo's first blow, and the turtle received a well placed counterattack in the abdomen. Leo fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath, as the Foot prepared for another attack.

The cat looked around with wide eyes. What was she supposed to do? There had to be something to help them, anything. Finally, her eyes fell on a fire extinguisher on the wall.

'_This better work,' _she thought to herself grabbing the heavy object. She was close to dropping it, but found the strength to hurl it up and smack it into the head of the Foot ninja. The extinguisher flew out of her hands and went through the hallway, leaving a series of metal clunks on it's way over the floor.

Leo slowly stood up, looking from the fallen ninja to the now still metal object on the floor.

"Nice hit," he commented, though he knew it wasn't over yet. The ninjas following them from before flew forward and took an offencive stance before them.

"Run," he told the cat, fixing his eyes on the enemies, "Get out of this place."

"I can't leave you." she shivered, though it didn't sound more interesting to stay and fight.

"You can," the turtle said coldly, not letting the cat argue. Before she could say a word, he had already charged at the Foot before him.

The feline was stunned for a few seconds, but knew that Leonardo was right. She was no use for him now. In fact, she would probably just cause more trouble than help. So she ran, through the hallways, towards the exit. Until she realized, that she was lost.

"Not good, not good," she whispered to herself, choosing a way to the left. But it only led her to two more hallways.

"Oh God…" she whined, trying to stay as close to the wall as possible. She just hoped Leonardo was okay. Would he really be able to take them all down? Alone? She continued through the white tunnels in search of the exit.

In the meantime, Leo was having a hard time fighting the Foot ninjas jumping onto him. It was like he was receiving more blows than he could deliver. But he had to get out of the place alive. If he didn't, who would tell his brothers about Raphael? The cat could, if she would make it… and if she would ever stumble into his family. So he **had **to make it. Giving it his best, he pushed off the ninjas and delivered a round house kick to three surrounding ones. One received an elbow in his nose, followed by a two-toed foot slamming into his kneecap. Another one had his teeth beaten out, as the turtle kicked his head upwards.

When the last one was standing, fear was shown in his eyes. The turtle had proved himself much stronger than first intended. Leonardo eyed him. He couldn't let him run away, he would just alarm the others. The ninja turned to run, but was too soon stopped by a fist hitting him in the back of his head, making the world spin very shortly and turn into darkness.

Leo rested his shell up against the wall, panting heavily. He was out of energy. But now was the wrong time to try to relax. He had to move on. He dashed off in the direction the feline had run.


	17. Fake Reality

Alright, this chapter is a little longer than the others. Bricks fall into place in this chapter… And I'm sorry, if you find a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes. It's 1:30 AM, and English isn't my main language.

Enjoy…

"Leonardo?" the cat hesitantly called out into the empty hallways. She was sure, she had heard something. Walking through the hall, she bit her lower lip. She was sure the sounds were coming closer. Panicking, she started running, hoping she was going in the right direction. Where was that map, when you needed it to appear? As she grew more and more desperate, she started running faster, throwing a glance over her shoulder to try to see if anyone was following her. Apparently not. The hallway was empty, but she could still hear sounds of footsteps. However, the echoes around her made it impossible to tell where they came from. Her breath became rapid. What if she was running straight into the Foot ninjas without knowing it? She threw her eyes back to see where she was running, just in time to see the green figure, she was bumping into.

She screamed when she hit the floor, covering her eyes in desperation, but as she heard the yelp coming from the one she had bumped into, she removed her arm to look up.

"God, I finally found you!" she exclaimed in eager, jumping up and giving the turtle a huge hug. She thought she had lost him, "I knew you'd be alright." With that, she released herself, her face one happy smile.

However, Leonardo didn't look as happy as she did. Actually, he looked rather perplexed over the situation, maybe even blushing a bit.

"What's wrong?" the feline questioned, pulling away. Why was he looking like that?

"Leonardo?"

"I think, you got the wrong turtle," Michelangelo giggled, looking at Donnie's face. He was pretty amused by the scene, as he couldn't help laughing a bit. Donatello's face was burning red, and it hadn't grown better when the cat had released him from the warm embrace.

The cat starred from one turtle to the other and back again. Now it was obvious. The bandana covering the turtle's eyes weren't blue, but purple…

"There's more of you!" she almost cried. Leonardo was one, and the other one, Raph… that was two. But would that be three or four turtles?

"Ehm," she tried, "One of you wouldn't be Raph, would you?" As the last words left her lips, both turtle's jaws dropped.

"You know where he is?" Donnie finally spoke, the embarrassing moment almost forgotten. If she did, their little rescue would be over sooner than they had ever hoped for.

The cat simply shook her head.

"No, but Leonardo is looking for him…"

"It can't be," Mikey gulped, "Leo's dead, Shredder killed him…" The cat was taken by surprise. She had really thought he had made it. Why did she even run, when she should have stayed? With a loud sigh, she leaned herself against the wall, a small tear escaping her. He had risked his life for her, sacrificed it just so she could get out of the way.

"I… I should never have left him," she stammered, "Where did you find him?"

Mikey scratched his head. It was hard to think about Raph's call. It was hours ago now…

"We didn't," Don interrupted his trail of thoughts, "We got a call two hours ago."

"You gotta be nuts," the cat frowned, making both Don and Mike raise an eye ridge, "I only left him maybe half an hour ago, and he was perfectly fine."

Donnie had to think about this. How could Raph think that Leo was dead? And, where were they both now? There could be two options; one, Leo and Raph had been tricked. Two, the feline was a lunatic…

"I think we should try and look for them," Don suggested, making both Mikey and the cat nod.

The trio slowly started walking, though none of them knew where to go. Everything looked alike; there were the same number of doors in each hallway - except for one.

"Let's try this one," Don pointed to the door. If he had calculated it right, there was one door missing in this hallway, which had to mean that two or one of the rooms were bigger than the others, and maybe being the one of importance. He carefully pressed the door open, only to look into a dark room. Fumbling, he tried to find the switch to the light, though with no luck. But curiosity dragged him further inside, not waiting for the others to follow. He stepped through the darkness, his hands out to try to reach for a wall or anything that could come in his way. There were no sounds to guide him, no smells to help him. All he could trust was his senses of feeling. He was walking on a soft carpet, no doubt about that. He tried to walk closer inside, when his right hand scratched against the wall. It was cold like metal, but it also felt like it was covered with something, like paint. Donnie followed it, suddenly feeling the wall change level. It was a door. He opened to look inside, finding it enlightened in a dim light from a small lamp in the roof. As he walked inside, he looked down at the red carpet beneath him. It was just as soft as the one in the other room. The walls were painted red and had to be made of wood - if he hadn't touched it. The coldness shot through Don, making him pull his hand back. It as well felt like the wall in the other room. In the middle of the room was a pool of something dark, but it wasn't hard for the turtle to guess what it was. Its dark red color told him everything. As he kneeled beside it, he felt how hard the carpet had turned, when the blood had stiffened. There was still some wet blood on it. It was sticking to Don's fingers, as he felt the sickening feeling hit him. It could be from one of his brothers, and it probably was. He was about to get up, when a gunshot was heard from the other room.

"MIKEY!" he screamed, jolting back towards the door. It had closed behind him, when he had entered the room. He yanked it open, almost hitting Mikey in the face as he did so.

"Damn bro!" Mikey panted, "Didn't ya hear us calling?" But no, Don had heard nothing. But if he could hear the gunshot so clear, wouldn't he have been able to hear his brother call?

"You had to," Mikey continued, more calmly now, "The kitty's scream could have broken a window…" The purple-masked turtle blinked slightly, looking back into the room he had come from.

"Didn't the gunshot come from in here?" he asked, totally doubt founded.

"We thought it came from the room **you **were in…" the cat said in between.

"Stay here a second." Donnie told, closing the door as he disappeared back into the dim room again. A few seconds past. When Donnie came back into view in the door, he looked at Mikey with thoughtful eyes.

"Did you hear something now?" Mikey shook his head. Everything had been quiet like the grave.

"This is weird," Donnie scratched his chin, looking back inside. Mikey's head slowly followed, looking inside to see the wall being covered in a black cover in a circle. Mikey's eyes widened a bit at the smoke coming from the center of the black spot.

"You should be able to hear a bomb…" the smart turtle smirked, the puzzle forming in his head, "Which means the sound of the gun must come from somewhere in between."

"Your point being?" Mikey tried, still not getting it.

"That both Raph and Leo can be alive, but positively sure that one has been shot. That can explain why Raph called and said Leo was gone, and that… she has been with Leo, thinking that Raph was dead, it makes sense."

The cat looked over at Don, clearly annoyed by being referred to as 'she'.

"But why would he do that?" she questioned, making Donnie wide eyed. He had figured it out.

"To make us come here." he stated, "Shredder wants us out of the way, but he needed us to come out of our hiding spot. And as he has failed catching us all on the same time, he took us apart."

It made sense. But he could have simply just killed one, letting the other do his dirty job. They had known one turtle would call to give the others an idea about where to go, but not who. It was simply a matter of who would be broken down psychologically first.

Mikey was slowly getting a headache. How his brother had figured all this out was hard enough to understand, but also how Leo and Raph must have suffered.

"We gotta find them," he replied in a low voice. If they were both out there, alive, he needed to know…


	18. Hang On to Death

On to the next chapter. I've left Raphael hanging for some time now, I know. Now we also get to some scenes that aren't as nice and cuddly as the others. As I stated in my warning, and the reason for the rating, this story is with torture and violence, so if you've kept reading, but really don't want to read it, I'll suggest you skip it here. It could be worse, but I'm not here to make people sick.

If you continue reading, enjoy…

"Leo isn't dead!" Raphael screamed at the Shredder, making his enemy pause, "He's still alive, isn't he?"

Shredder slowly turned around, starring into Raph's eyes. Suddenly, a hard laughter broke through the hallway.

"I assume you got your idea through the alarm," the nemesis chuckled, "But it's nothing but a simply experiment on the loose." Shredder got closer, his hands placed on the hips to look at the turtle.

"You're all alone-"

"No, LIAR!" It wasn't over, it couldn't be over. If it was, why couldn't he just have stayed in the bloody room to await his doom? Something had dragged him out on the hallway, something had told him to react. But - the young turtle was slowly loosing faith. Shredder was probably right. Somehow, it all seemed like a dream. Raphael had never thought something could end his eternal rage. The fire burning inside him, causing him to get into fights with his brothers all the time was gone - for the first time in his life. He couldn't feel it anymore.

Shredder smiled behind the mask. His victory was there, finally. Sure, Leonardo was somewhere in the building, along with his experiment, but the creature wasn't to the turtle's aid. And Leonardo couldn't stop him now. It was time to go to plan B, what the whole mission had held as a purpose. With a snap with his fingers, the Foot soldiers around him moved away, leaving Raph on the floor.

"It is time to finish what I have started," the Shredder said in a serious voice, cracking his knuckles. His eyes were closed, leaving nothing but an empty black hole for Raph to look into. But that didn't even matter anymore. What would usually have been replaced with hatred, or maybe even fear, was still the emptiness covering him. He didn't even use energy to get up to stand, but only pushed himself up in a sitting position. All his senses were at their lowest.

Until his head was pushed backwards, and a sharp pain shot through him, as Shredder's foot connected with his jaw, sending the turtle through the hall. Raphael coughed as he felt blood going down his throat, almost choking him. The kick had surprised him - but he still couldn't fight. When he told his body to get up, it never did as it was told. Instead, images started running through his head.

'_You wanna know, what's buggin' me? That I can't live my damn life by myself'_, his own voice cried in his mind.

'_Go home, Leo'_

'_Who are you to decide that? Yeah, you're my brother and the leader, but that doesn't give you the right to decide where I go!'_

'_Just stay away from me, Leonardo... Just stay out of my life'_

What had he done? Raph's body started to shake violently. Why couldn't he just be dead? Why wouldn't Shredder just hurry up? How had it ever come to this? They had been so close when they were kids, all of them. Taking care of each other, helping each other - and he had looked up to Leo. But he had done that all of his life. He had never accepted the fact that his big brother was his idol. Little Splinter Junior… He still couldn't believe what had happened. Had he simply gotten… worse through the years? It had to be it. His constant search for being the best had taken over. He had always thought, he would be the leader, always. But seeing that their farther and master had already chosen, maybe tat was what made him angry. That he had no chance to prove himself better, no matter how hard he tried. It was like he had lacked a place in the family somehow. Leonardo, as the oldest brother, and the most determined turtle, the leader and the one to look after everything, had his place. Michelangelo had found his place as the youngster, the one that people turned to, when they needed a good laugh. He was always open to everything, ready to cheer you up in even the worst of times. And Donatello - of course, he would fit in too. He could fit in everywhere, with his quiet nature and ability to impress everyone with his knowledge.

But what did he possess? Nothing. He had just somehow **been **there, with no purpose whatsoever. Only to ruin everything for everyone.

His thoughts were abruptly cut off, when the two blades on Shredder's hand went through his stomach, cutting through the plastron and digging deeper into his flesh. The pain was overwhelming. Raphael's throat tried to let out a scream, but all that escaped him was a hiss. Everything became blurry, it was like he would pass out. He just didn't. Shredder pulled him up with the blades still inside him, making the pain worse, until he was sent flying towards the nearest wall. The two blades left his body easily.

Without a sound, Raph landed on the ground with a thud. Why was it taking so long? Why was his body still holding on to stay awake? In the distance, he could hear Shredder's footsteps. He wasn't sure, if they got closer or not, until he opened his eyes, seeing the shadow right before him.

"By the way," Shredder smirked, as he grabbed Raph by the bandana and forced him to look up, "Thanks for letting your brothers to me…"

The fire was back. Great and fierce. With a cry, Raph shot himself upwards to hit Shredder, only to find his body too weak to carry his weight. And he would have plummeted to the floor, if it hadn't been for a large hand grabbing him by the neck, stopping the air from coming into the turtle's lungs.

Now he was to blame for killing Donnie and Mikey too… Why had he called them, he thought he was during the right thing! He was a failure, down to the bone. He had destroyed his family. Even after how he'd been all these years, they still came to his aid. Unbelievable. Now there was surely no purpose in living - so why was he struggling?

The turtle fought with all of his might to get out of the tight grip, his throat and eyes burning.

He just wanted to die, now, but his body wouldn't stop fighting. As the world blackened, the sounds around him vanishing quickly, the grip disappeared and let the turtle fall. Raphael heaved in the air desperately, barely conscious. Everything was still black, but it was slowly coming back to him. The pain in his body was increasing, but he was turning weaker every second. Raphael tried to get up, just a little bit, but the blood loss had gotten too much - he was slowly drifting away. And still, his heart was beating faster than ever. It was like it raced frantically. Don had told him why once. There was a scientific reason for the body to behave that way, when you were loosing too much blood, but Raph simply couldn't remember. He couldn't even focus anymore. But the pain was going away, making his body feel like it was drifting in the air. He couldn't feel or see his surroundings anymore. He could hear them, but all that was left was a maniacal laughter…


	19. Final Strike

A big apology to all of you. I haven't had much time to write, and it probably won't be that much the next month. I have a pretty important assignment ahead of me, that simply needs to be done, and it takes a lot of my time. Then my computer has been down, and my rabbit died recently - there's been some odds against me, but I'm finally back with the next chapter. The longest chapter in the story, so far... Still, I hope you will all enjoy the story.

Enjoy...

"We're lost, aren't we?" Mikey sighed, looking at his elder brother. Donnie looked around without a word. He really wasn't happy to admit it, but yes, they were lost. He had lost track of the different hallways not too long ago.

"Well, yeah," he finally stated, "But I am pretty sure we-" Donatello was suddenly cut off by a cry not far away.

"It's Raph," Mikey gasped, "I can recognize that voice anywhere!"

"It… sounds like he's in trouble," the cat whimpered, laying her ears flat against the red hair. She didn't like the sound. It was like pure rage and desperation blended into a yell. She had heard it before, not from whoever was screaming, but from…

Now wasn't the time to think of it. Donnie and Mikey were already running in the direction of the cry, and the feline quickly decided to do the same.

What hit the three was the sight of a bleeding, beaten up turtle lying motionless before Shredder's feet, and a group of ninjas looking at the scene - and now they all turned to look directly at them.

Now would have been great for a remark. A tiny one, placed in the exactly rightful moment - but Mikey couldn't say a word. He couldn't even call to his brother to know if he was alive or not. He was frozen solid.

"What have you done to him!" Donnie finally broke the silence in the hallway. His voice sounded angry, almost too angry to really belong to the quiet turtle of the gang. Shredder chuckled to himself, not bothering to even answer the demanded question laid before him.

"Get them." he ordered his ninjas, who charged at full speed at the freaks.

Mikey quickly reacted, dragging out the pair of nunchakus from his belt to counterattack the Foot members coming his way. It was all instinct. He wasn't angry, he wasn't controlling his body, the blows hitting the ninjas landing exactly where they should. He had to get to his wounded brother.

Donnie was only a second slower than his youngest brother, before he attacked the other side of enemies. But unlike his brother, he was steaming mad. A fire burned inside him that he was somehow unable to explain. There surely had to be a logical reason, and there was - if he actually thought about it. Who would have guessed, that the quietest of the group of four would be the one to react more fiercely and in a blind rage unlike any of the others. Donatello's Bo staff flew through the air, hitting one Foot to come back and parry a ninja-to above him, only to swirl around and knock the attacker to his feet. These were perfect movements. Leo and Splinter would be proud, if they had seen him now. They would have looked at him in ave, knowing just how well he had followed his practice lessons. He hated fighting, deep down inside. But then, why was he acting like this? Donnie stopped his movements, looking around him with a skeptical look. He had gotten rid of all of his attackers. They were down. Wasn't this a good thing? Then why did he feel so empty inside? His gaze rose, looking up at the feline standing before him. She looked afraid, maybe even terrified. Like she had never seen the real face of war. But perhaps she hadn't. She was just a harmless experiment, not used to the sightings outside of her prison.

The turtle's thoughts were interrupted by a Foot member flying past him. He looked back, startled to see Mikey standing in the middle of what looked like a field of bodies. The Foot ninjas were down. Before them was only the Shredder, his glowing red eyes watching them. He was ready to take on the fight against them, it was clear. But again, he didn't have anything to loose. They all knew, that he was the strongest one, the one that would still be standing, when the battle was over.

"I see you have found my lab animal," the dark voice echoed through the hallway, making the cat shiver. Her fur was standing on end, the big, fluffy tail twitching from side to side. It was all she was to him. An animal…

The turtles didn't respond. The two brothers stood their grounds, side by side. Like they talked to each other through their minds, they jumped off in the exact same second, attacking Shredder from the front. Shredder raised his arms, blocking both pair of feet coming at his chest. Even so, the impact made him stumble backwards.

Donnie fell to the ground, landing in a bowed down position with his Bo still in both hands. He wasn't slow to react. The hit had left an opening for him to use. With all of is might, he thrusted the staff into Shredder's abdomen, making the huge figure bend over. It was a cowardly move, but it somehow didn't matter to him. What was going on with him? Was he starting to like the war, the fire of rage burning through his veins in the heat of battle? No. It was still wrong, but - Raphael. Shredder wouldn't hold back a move like that, if he had the opportunity to make it. Donnie had no reason to feel regret. He would attack again. He needed to get the Shredder down, for Raph, but before he could react, Mikey was already sending a flying kick to the enemy's head. A bull's eye. The turtle's heel connected with the cheek, sending Shredder's head back with a crack.

Mikey landed on the ground, the nunchakus landing on the floor. Shredder's body fell lifeless to the ground. Was it over? Had he really - killed him? That crack from his neck couldn't be mistaken. No one could have survived that. Mikey starred at the body. It had happened so quickly, and it made him feel empty inside. It hadn't been a fight. It had been simple revenge… He slowly turned to look back at Donnie, who looked just as surprised as him. No one had expected the Shredder to fall so quickly, not after the countless battles in the past.

Donnie lowered his head to push himself up again in a standing position. It was more difficult to look down at the armored body than he had thought. Not because he felt any guilt or grief. It was just wrong. All the troubles and scars he had cost them, worries for each other - and then it was ended after less than minutes of fighting. His eyes slowly opened looking down at the floor to watch the Shredder - only to find the floor empty. Donnie's head shot up. Shredder wasn't lying down anymore, he was standing behind his brother, who still hadn't looked back to witness the unbelievable.

Donnie wanted to cry to his brother to look out, but before the air could even leave his lungs-

Mikey suddenly felt the pain in the back of his head, like metal slamming into his skull. But it soon disappeared again. It lasted nothing but a few seconds. The world started spinning around him, as he felt the floor coming closer to his face. But he was out cold before he hit the floor with a loud thud.

The cat jerked backwards with a gasp. What was she to do? She couldn't help them, it was no use. Shredder was too strong.

Donnie's jaw dropped. Now two of his brothers were lying there. It had to stop, now. The purple-masked turtle attacked, his Bo staff drawn to the side, ready to fly towards his nemesis. The staff hit the metal hard, as Shredder dragged out his arm to block the attack with the two spikes on the back of his glove.

"You fool!" his voice boomed, as he grabbed the Bo with the other hand. He got a firm grip on it, dragging it hard towards himself, "You really think, you can take me on alone!"

Donnie hadn't expected this, as he was still clunging to the wooden weapon, when Shredder dragged it closer. The turtle fell forwards, stumbling right into reach for the Shredder to make his move. Donatello was grabbed by the forehead, being slammed into the wall with great force. It sounded like a bomb exploding inside his head, as it connected with the wall behind him. It blackened.

'_No, stay awake, stay awake!' _he called to himself, the light in the room finding its way back to him. Shredder was still holding on to him, his eyes narrowing at Donnie. The turtle was sure, that he could see pleasure in the eyes of his enemy. Two down, two to go - or maybe even one. They hadn't heard from Leo yet. Maybe the Shredder had already taken care of him, and he would be the last one to fall before the hand of Oroku Saki.

'_No,' _his mind cried back, as he fought to get out of Shredder's grip. The glooming red eyes were still watching him. Suddenly, a loud clang came from behind Shredder, making the figure turn his head around to face his attacker. The weapon came at him again, hitting the shoulder. Though it didn't exactly do any damage.

"Leave him, you fucking, twisted son-of-a-bitch!" the cat bellowed, smashing the Bo into Shredder's arm, making him loose the grip on Donnie. The purple masked ninja fell to the ground, trying to keep his gaze at the feline. She wasn't very strong, that was for sure…

Still, the cat hadn't any intentions on stopping. She directed another blow at Shredder's head, cursing on the top of her lunges.

The Bo was easily grabbed by the large metal hand and broken by its muscles. The small splinters fell to the ground, leaving the hand open for something new to hold on to.

Shredder threw out his hand to catch the cat by the neck, but the furry creature quickly jumped backwards. She was out of reach, safe from the hand coming towards her - if it hadn't been for the small chain hanging in a red, spiked color around her neck. Why hadn't Donnie noticed it before now?

'_Because your mind was focused on other things,' _the voice told him inside his head. And that was probably the same reason why they had gotten lost before. Why he had stopped on the street, when Mikey still wanted to continue. He wasn't focusing on the mission. Just like, when he was fighting the Foot soldiers… Instincts had been taking over his consciousness, making him do and think what he did. His gaze shot back up at Shredder holding the cat. His enemy wasn't focused either. He wasn't paying attention to Donatello, his mind was only settled on the female before him, caught in his grip.

The feline shrieked, when her movement was stopped by the sudden drag in the neck, making her fall to her knees. Still, she was quickly hurled up to look directly into Shredder's eyes.

"If you can't obey," he hissed in a hoarse whisper, "Then you're no use to me…" As the words left him, he drew the hand with the spikes out to deliver a deadly slash. The metal glinted in the feline's brown eyes, as it hurried towards her. This would be the end. She would be dead in less than seconds, her throat sliced open by the two spikes. She would be thrown on the ground, left to bleed until her mind would be as black as-

The lights in the room suddenly exploded in cascades of electricity, leaving the hallway pitch black. Though there was no light anymore. Donatello could still hear the sounds around him - hearing the metal go through flesh, the sound of blood landing on the floor and a thud - from a body landing hard…

Suddenly, Donnie welcomed the darkness. He had been sparred to watch what happened before him, though the pictures in his mind showed it too him exactly how it had happened. He closed his eyes. As if it even mattered. It was the same blackness as before. But now he couldn't get used to it, he wouldn't be able to see the true picture in the hallway, how the Shredder had murdered his own creation. But if he could just block out the sounds. The sounds made the pictures in his head come to life. He could see Raph, Mikey and the feline lying on the ground. A large figure standing in the middle, watching his enemies. Steps started coming his way. He had to defend himself, or at least get away, just something. Shredder was taking him as the last one. Maybe - maybe he had even finished off Leonardo before he had gone to Raphael. He was the last to be taken care of. Donnie's fists clenched, sweat started dripping down his face, some of them running down to his mouth and giving him the salty taste. The footsteps came closer, but he couldn't move. He couldn't do anything. He just felt his breath becoming more rapid, more panicked, Shredder was close now, footsteps stopped beside him.

This was the end. Donnie felt something warm on his shoulder….


	20. Breakdown! the end

Alright, chapter 20 - who would have guessed that, huh? I want to thank all the ones, that has reviewed my story. I love you, guys! There will be a lot of things explained later on, but not in this chapter. You'll just have to wait... But enough of my babbling, let's get on with the story.

Enjoy...

The room was quiet. All that could be heard was the footsteps slowly approaching the shocked turtle. Donatello had his eyes closed, he could feel the panic starting to rush through his body, and yet, he couldn't make himself move or even look up to face his doom. And then something warm fell upon his shoulder. A hand, still warm and wet from the blood it was covered by.

'_Donnie...'_

He stirred. He was afraid, more than ever before. He wished that Leo was there. He would have been there to save them all. He would-

'_Donnie.'_

have saved Raph, and Mikey, and himself. Donnie was sure, that he would have saved the winged cat too.

"Donnie!"

The turtle shot his eyes open, looking into a pair of familiar eyes. It was even more shocking than the thought of looking into the eyes of the Shredder, or even death itself. Donnie's breathing had stopped, his throat was closed, sealed. He could only stare into the deep pools in the young face before him without as much as a whisper.

Finally, he threw himself at his brother, grabbing him around the neck to embrace himself in his arms, trying to get some comfort between all that had happened in the past hours. Leonardo grabbed him, though a bit stunned to know what was the right thing to do – but still, holding his brother in his arms helped on the mental stress he had been through. Donnie had actually come to save him – and Raph? Did Donnie know, had he maybe even found him somewhere in the building? The thought made Leo shiver. What had Shredder done to his brother afterwards? He couldn't help thinking about it. But then, where was Mikey? All he could see around him was fallen shadows, but who they all were, was hard to decide.

He pushed himself away from Donatello, looking worriedly at him.

"Don, where's Mikey?" he asked in a low voice. It was shaking a bit, revealing how nervous he actually was. Donnie looked down. He was so embarrassed that he had just been sitting there, doing nothing but to wait for the last blow.

"Right here..." a small cough came from not far away, as one of the shadows slowly got up to a sitting position. Don blinked, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Mike, you're alright," the purple masked turtle grinned, feeling even more relieved than when he saw Leo. The shadow slowly got up and almost crawled over to them, getting close enough for the two brothers to see his face. Blood was still dripping from the bruise in his head, where Shredder had hit him, and it had brought him out of balance. Standing up was not an option. But he smiled weakly, showing that he wasn't hurt that bad. It brought comfort to the others, seeing as they were all three well.

"What about Raph?" Mikey pointed out, his voice still a bit week, "And the cat?"

"Raph's alive!" Leo widened his eyes in the dark, his heart skipping a beat, literally. It couldn't be true. He had believed him to be dead, al clues lead to the simple fact, that he had lost his brother, and now hope was showing its golden face again. Donnie and Mikey fell silent for a moment. They actually didn't know, what condition Raph was in. Mikey shot back, trying to see where his brother was at. He was there, somewhere. God, he simply had to be alive, Mikey needed his brother to still be alive. Michelangelo tried to stand up, but the dizziness quickly overwhelmed him, making him fall to his knees again. A throbbing pain yanked in his skull, making it almost too painful to stay awake, but he had to find Raph. If it wasn't impossible... The room was painted with bodies, most of them still alive. But he couldn't point out his brother in the dark. Why couldn't that blasted dark just go away? Suddenly, a shadow started moving, uneasy and shaking.

"Raph?" Mikey's voice was shaking violently. He wanted so much to hear his brother's voice, just a simple moan would be enough. Anything. Raph was even excused for insulting him, making fun of him – anything!

"Sorry," came a female reply. Mikey's heart dropped. Of course, it was good to know that the feline was alright too, but – he had so much wished for Raphael... Leo slowly got up and walked to the winged cat, making sure that he wasn't tripping over anything, or anyone. The Shredder was lying right next to her, his head lying in a funny angle on his body, lifeless. Or so he hoped, the villain had tricked them before. Leo sat down, helping her to sit up, not even noticing the blood sticking to her fur. He gently placed a hand on her chin, lifting her head upwards to check for wounds.

And the light returned, making them all flinch, as their eyes had just recently gotten used to the dark. Only a few light bulbs were still intact after the small explosion, but it was enough. When Leo opened his eyes, he could see the cat's yellowish fur stained in the red blood, two deep marks running below her throat still bleeding furiously. Leonardo gasped. He had thought, that he had stroked Shredder – and he had. The katana was still laying on the floor after his attack, and there was no blood on them. Shredder had gotten the cat before he could react.

"Raph!" Donnie almost cried, finally seeing where his last brother was at. He got to his knees, almost throwing himself in the direction of the unconscious turtle. Raph didn't move, except for his chest moving slightly by each breath. He was still alive, thank heavens!

"We gotta do something," Don called out to the others, "He's badly injured." Mikey crawled up to them, quickly followed by Leo, who was holding the feline in his arms. Leonardo's eyes couldn't move away from his brother's body, though he still somehow managed to put the cat down and get closer to Raph. He could feel and see himself place his hand on the injured ninja's shoulder, but - he wasn't aware of it. It was all like seeing a movie. He couldn't believe it, it couldn't be real. But one thing burned in his mind - there wasn't time to get him back home. They were talking minutes, maybe even seconds. He was speechless, he had no clue on what to do. What a nemesis. In the biggest crisis ever in his life, the 'fearless leader' was out of ideas.

The feline blinked at the sight. What had these turtles done to be target of her master's rage? She didn't know. The Shredder had never spoken directly to her in any matter, she had only overheard fragments of information. Information about...

"M-may I?" she tried, reaching her arm out to touch Raphael. Mikey wasn't slow to react, as he quickly moved to the side. He wasn't paying much attention to the surroundings, he could only respond on what to do, like a machine. His breathing ad almost stopped. Raph had been the one to let them know, that there was still a small light in the horizon.

The cat moved closer to sit right beside him. Her body was shaking lightly. Somehow, she wasn't sure, if she was ready for this. What if it went wrong, that she just used valuable time or maybe even did it all worse? But again, didn't she owe it to the others to try? She did, and she knew it. Placing both of her hands on Raphael's shoulder, she could feel the semi cold skin under them. The bangs of long fur from her lower arms spread on the turtle's body like waves of brown water, and her fur was standing on end. She closed her eyes. Now was the time, she only had one shot.

"What the-?" Donnie mumbled, watching a white light surround his brother. There was no logical explanation to this - in fact, he had no idea on what the heck the winged cat was doing. But she looked, concentrated, sweat was starting to drip down from her face, her abdomen was sinking inwards, her muscles working on full speed. All three turtles sat in ave. What was this, some kind of trick? It couldn't be... The cat let go of their brother, like she had gotten an electric shot. She was breathing heavily, clearly exhausted. But the turtles were still in doubt of what had just happened. Nothing had changed. If she had performed some kind of miracle, shouldn't he be sitting up now? Donnie slowly let his hand run over a bleeding wound - though finding it closed. It was nothing but a scar now, as he wiped the blood away with his finger.

"It's," the feline panted, "It's all... I could do," She folded her arms around her body, freezing slightly. Her eyes were focused on the floor.

"You...?" Mikey starred at her. There was so many words trying to push it's way through his throat, but even if he had tried to let them out, he would have stopped immediately again.

A small mourn came from Raph, as he stirred in his state of unconsciousness.

"Raph?" Leo tried, lifting his brother's head up in a comforting way. His breathing was steady, getting stronger for every second e was holding him. Leo turned his head to the cat, "How can we thank you for this?" His eyes were watering now. He had thought it was over, that they had lost him. Raph moved slightly again, still not awake.

The feline looked around at them all. The warmth was coming back to her body gradually, she was starting to feel good again. And now these creatures wanted to thank her in some way?

"Well," she hesitated, a small smile creeping upon her face, "You could get me out of here..."


	21. Together

I sincerely apologies for all the time it has taken me to come up with another chapter. I have a REALLY big exam coming up soon. It means everything for my education... Well, enough of my babbling. This part is NOT the end, though it could sound like it. And be ready - this is one of the longer chapters :)

Michelangelo looked up, seeing the weak light from the sun rising behind the tall buildings of New York. The air was still fresh from the rain the night before and it had washed all trails of the events away. Looking back, he saw his brothers coming closer. Leo had carefully placed Raph on his back, and Donnie was right behind him with the winged feline at his side. The youngest turtle smiled to himself. They were finally out of the damned building, all of them alive.

Luckily, Don had lent him his Bo for support as they walked home. The dizziness wasn't gone yet. Mike would know, as he had tried to jump into the air in a rush of pure happiness, when they had gotten out the door. However, it had only resulted in what looked like a clumsy excuse for a step going wrong and he had hit the ground.

"Mikey, take it easy," Donnie called behind him. His brother was smiling as well. How awfully awkward it seemed, all three turtles couldn't brush the smile off their face. The night had taught them a lesson - just how weak they actually were when once alone. But they had made it together, somehow.

The cat smiled at the sight, a small tear running down from her eye. It had been so long, since she had seen the streets and daylight. In fact, she couldn't even remember how long since it had been… The smile faded. What was she to do now? She had no places to go, no one to turn to. And if she had? She couldn't remember.

Leo stopped to look at her, biting his lip. Somehow, he knew what she was thinking. And so did the others, it seemed. Donnie looked from the cat to Leo, and soon Mikey stood between the two.

Words were not necessary at all. A simple look between the three made it clear what to do. Mikey's smile grew bigger, as he walked towards the feline with only the sound of the Bo hitting the pavement with small thuds.

"You know," he tried, scratching his head, "We don't live in a mansion, but there's always room for one more…"

The cat blinked, not catching it at first. It was unbelievable. The two stood, holding eye contact for a minute, until it was broken and the cat lunged herself at the turtle, nearly knocking Mikey off his feet.

"Thank you," she whispered, giving the turtle a big hug. This had to mean, that she wouldn't be alone anymore. There were no more dark cells in the future now, at least she hoped there wouldn't be.

Leo and Don simply looked at each other, as they grinned. Perhaps this was the beginning of a new life?

"So," Leo interrupted, "Should we get going?"

The cat got up, wiping the tears away from her eyes. She hadn't noticed that she had been crying. With a nod, she started walking beside Michelangelo to the others, as they started on their long way home.

It went slowly and without a word. Even though it was early in the morning, they had to be careful not to be seen, especially with the bright daylight hitting more of the city by the minute. It was even harder with a turtle lying on your shell and a mutant cat not knowing where to go. But they made it, after a long time.

Leo sighed. It was good to be home. He carefully placed Raph on the couch, making sure he wasn't hurting him and looked around the dark lair. It was quiet - too quiet. Donnie and Mikey had noticed it too. It felt wrong. Splinter would have been awake by now. Donatello walked to his master's door, knocking But as no reply came, he decided on sliding it aside to look at the room. It was empty. Donnie gulped, quickly looking back at the others.

"Where the heck is he?" Mikey finally said out loud, placing Donnie's Bo to rest on the wall. He wasn't feeling dizzy anymore, though he could still feel the pain from his head.

"Sensei?" Leo tried calling and awaited an answer, but none came. He tried again, but the silence remained. Don and Mikey tried searching the lair, but it was as if their farther had disappeared into thin air.

Leo grabbed for his shell cell, dialing their sensei's number. It was ringing… For some time, Leo just looked at the small device without a word. Why weren't he answering? Nothing was ringing in the lair, so the old rat had had to take it with him.

"How does this work?" a muffled voice suddenly replied and a lot of scrambling could be heard.

'_Typical…' _Leonardo thought to himself in amusement. Their master had never been good with that thing. He would probably never learn.

"Master Splint-" Leo tried, but the muffling got worse and another voice asked for the cell phone - a female voice.

"Guys?" April's voice replied, "Where are you, we've been out for hours looking for you!"

The three turtles gathered around the shell cell, a wide smile spread on their faces. That explained everything…

"We're home," Michelangelo cheered into the phone, but was pushed a little aside.

"It's a very long story," Leo cut through, sending his brother a glare. But he couldn't get mad at his reaction, not after what they had been through. His attention was turned back to the call, "We'll explain everything when you get here." April said goodbye and hung up, leaving the lair silent again.

"Well," Don broke the silence, "I guess we better get a look on that bruise, Mikey."

Mikey's face turned serious, as he looked at his brother motioning for him to follow him to the lab.

"M'kay," he hesitated, "But no stitches!" The young turtle trailed after Donnie, though it was clear that he wasn't very happy about it.

"You better go with them too," Leonardo told the cat, "Don needs to do something about the cuts." The feline tried to look down at where Shredder had hit her, but all she could see was the blood splattered fur and cloth. She carefully let a finger run over the cuts, sending the turtle a weak smile.

"I- guess you're right," she lowly replied. With a final nod, she went in the direction that Donnie and Mikey had went and left Leo alone with Raph.

Leo sat down next to the couch with a sigh, looking at his sleeping brother. There probably hadn't been anything he could have done to prevent the events of the night. Still, he had known that one day, things wouldn't go as smoothly as they used to. It had all been a matter of time - he just wished Raph would come to the same conclusion. Leonardo gently placed his hand on Raph's. He couldn't wait to see him awake. More than ever before, he actually wished for an insult coming in his face. He just needed… something. He gave his brother's hand a light squeeze and was about to pull his hand back, when Raphael stirred in his sleep.

"Raph..?" Leo whispered to his brother, waiting for his eyes to open. But it didn't happen. The turtle was still caught in his sleep. Leonardo withdrew his hand and looked down on the floor, seeing drops of tears hitting the ground through the unclear gaze. He could actually hear himself sob lowly, his breathing being short and rapid. He had been holding it back, all the deepest frustrations he had been building up through the night. And now it was all welling up inside him, now that he was alone.

Maybe it had all been his fault after all? If he hadn't let Raph go, he should have stayed with him, even though his younger brother didn't want him to - or maybe him following was the exact reason for it. How many times hadn't he lectured his brother about running off without a word? Leo couldn't remember. It had been more of a habit than an actual cause, that had kept him arguing with Raph over the last weeks about that small topic. And if he hadn't followed him, he wouldn't have held him back on the street, his brother could have disappeared before the Foot even saw him.

"Leo, are you alright?" a voice asked, making the blue masked turtle look up suddenly. Mikey looked down at his brother, a worried look printed in his eyes behind the mask. He just stood there, waiting for a reply - but their fearless leader was speechless. Mikey pondered. What would be the right thing to do now? With a sigh, he sat down beside Leo and just studied him without a word.

Minutes passed, as none of them knew what to say or do, until Leonardo finally broke the silence.

"It's my entire fault," he whispered, looking into his brother's shocked eyes, "Isn't it?"

Mikey gulped hard on that one. He hadn't expected his brother to take the blame, not for tonight's happenings. It had been nothing but fate leading them into the nightmare, but his usually clever brother seemed to be blind to the basic fact.

"Leo, no one is to blame but Shredder," he tried, placing a three-fingered hand on Leo's shoulder. He really struggled for something clever to say, but he knew he was going to fail miserably. He simply wasn't good at this. Still, the words didn't seem to sooth Leonardo at all. Tears still trickled down his cheeks, only to land on he floor among the rest of the teardrops.

"No," Leo sobbed, "I- I should have done something to prevent this. I should have…" his voice trailed off, and Leonardo rose from his place and turned his shell to his brother.

"I don't deserve to be alive-" he didn't get any further, before something stroke him on the face and almost made him loose his balance. His cheek felt like it was burning, like he had been hit hard. He starred at his brother in shock. Michelangelo had been quick enough to get up from his seat and slap him in the face. But it wasn't the usual face looking at him. Mikey looked angry, his fists bolted together in two tight knobs and his body was shaking.

"Don't say that!" he cried, restraining himself from just turning away and run out of the lair, "Don't ever dare saying that, Leonardo. Y-you don't know what we went through to find you. I thought you were dead, that I was never gonna see you again. Just-" Mikey wiped the tears away with his arm, looking his brother into the eyes. He felt like he was going to faint, that the air had been pulled out of his lunges. He could hardly say more…

"I need you." he finished with a hoarse whisper, closing his eyes and turning the head down. A vomiting feeling was frozen solid in his guts, threatening to come up, if the dizziness didn't knock him off his feet first. How he maintained his standing position was unbelievable.

Leo blinked. Had he ever seen Mikey so angry - or scared before? No, he would have remembered. In a moment of self-pity, Leonardo had forgotten that he hadn't been the only one suffering, that the night had been just as long as it had for him. Like eternal hours…

"My sons."

Splinter watched the two turtles standing before each other, none of them speaking or even looking at each other. The silence was abruptly cut off, as Donatello slid into the room. His eyes fell at first at his two brothers, and then he saw that their Sensei had returned. A smile spread on the purple masked turtle's face. Seeing the old rat with them was what proved them to be home.

Master Splinter walked closer to the three turtles, standing in the middle of the triangle they were forming. Even though, he didn't feel like they were alone. There was something, he couldn't make out…

Then, nothing could have prepared him for their actions. Not even if he had been told, would he have been ready. All three turtles lunged at him, almost dragging him to the ground by the weight of their hugs, or maybe even lifting him from the ground as they tried to hold onto him, wetting his fur with their tears. The rat was too stunned to move at first. So many vibrations of both sorrow and happiness seemed to fill the lair, as if something was unleashed from their minds.

Leo could barely breath, as he felt the warm fur on his cheek. Being the one closest to their sensei, and the one being pressed inwards by his two brothers, he could feel them all around him. He had been stupid to believe, he was alone, even the second he attempted to think that he didn't deserve them was foolish.

Mikey sniffed happily, squeezing his father tightly. His hand was placed on Leo's shoulder, but that wasn't distracting him. He felt like himself again, he so needed to laugh out loud. With another sob, he squeezed even tighter, as if he was trying to press that weird feeling out of his mind by letting it out on Splinter.

Donnie finally let go of the last emotions toggled up inside of him. Being around his family felt greater than ever. Not even when he had locked himself up in the small lab for days, had he ever had the urge to jump out and into the arms of his brothers and farther like at that moment.

But things somehow didn't seem whole - something was missing. Splinter's mind froze in one thought. Where was Raphael? Wouldn't he have felt it, if his son hadn't returned home with the others? And what kind of a father would he be for not knowing? As the turtles released him, he tried to look for his son in his heart. He could still feel him…

The three ninjas seemed to know what Splinter was searching for, as they stepped away from him to let him see the last of them on the couch.

Without a sound, Master Splinter moved to the couch and placed a hand on Raphael's forehead. A loud sigh of relief escaped his mouth. His son was out of danger.

"I… I believe we have a lot to tell you," Leo said, as he carefully wiped the tears away from his eyes. Splinter nodded and sat down in the chair near the couch, as his three sons sat on the floor around him.

Together, they started telling what had happened, all from each perspective.

"I still haven't found out, how you made the lights go out, as you attacked Shredder," Donnie looked at Leo, as they had finished their tale, "It would normally have needed some kind of timer…"

"I didn't do it," Leo exclaimed confused, leaving them in silence for a short moment.

"Perhaps it was the thunder," Mikey suggested with a shrug. Donnie thought about it. It could have been.

"And what happened to this feline?" Splinter asked, eyeing the turtles. Donatello got up from his seat on the floor and walked over to the small lab.

"We brought her with us," Leo explained and turned his head to see Donnie come closer with the winged cat beside him. She seemed a bit pale, as she got closer and looked at the rat.

Splinter studied her. It made sense, that feeling he had had of not being alone, when he had walked into the lair.

"You don't seem to feel to well," the rat quietly pointed out, making the cat blush a bit. Or maybe it just looked like "a bit" due to the fur covering the skin.

"Well," Donnie coughed, "Let's just say I've found someone more afraid of needles than Mikey…"

"You fainted!" Mikey wasn't late to ask, but his reply came as a short laugh from Don, that sounded like "Almost".

"Hey," the cat complained, "It wasn't that bad… okay it was, but…" The smiles didn't seem to seize, as she looked around, not even from the rat, though he quickly tried to drag the focus away from his children's amusement.

"Tell me, child; what is your name?" he asked, though the smile still played on his lips. He somehow couldn't forget all the troubles Michelangelo had caused with his fear of needles over the years, especially that one time, when Donatello insisted them on getting a vaccine for the flue.

"I," the cat looked down, "Don't have a name…" The words seemed to quiet the room for several minutes. It hadn't been a reply, which they had been ready for. How could you not have a name?

"Well, not to worry," Mikey stood up, acting precisely like his old self. Of course, his family could tell he wasn't truly himself, but it soothed them to see him so cheerful again.

"We have plenty of 'leftover-names'. And I think we have a name fitting you perfectly." Walking up next to the feline, he grabbed a soft hold on one of the white wings and folded it out. When folded, the feathers touched the ground. But now one of them was lifted up, and a small feather fell silently to the floor without anyone noticing.

With a wink, he readied his brothers and father for the upcoming name…


	22. Epilogue Awakening

This is the final chapter. And I can tell you, you have no idea how glad I am for all the reviews through the story. A big thank you to all who have followed. I wrote this chapter while listening to Evanescene "My Immortal". And as always...

Enjoy...

The light slowly found its way through the corners of a pair of closed eyes. Raphael slowly started stirring, letting out a low moan of pain. His head was throbbing and it felt like he had been smashed into a million pieces. Opening his eyes seemed harder than he had thought. It was as if every time he tried, the light and the pain pushed them close again.

'_Hey, he's waking up,'_ he could hear something. It sounded like it was far away, but coming closer. Finally, he got his eyes somewhat open and tried to fight the urge to shut them. He could see a figure over him, looking down at him. It was still blurry, but he could somewhat notice the colors of the figure.

"Mikey…?" he said in a hoarse whisper, trying to move his body to get up in a sitting position. However, before he could even lift his body from the couch, the pain shot through him and blackened his vision for a second.

Michelangelo placed a hand on his plastron, but quickly realized that he had no need to try to keep his brother laid down - gravity itself was doing fine. He couldn't help but smile at his brother's effort to sit. It was so typical Raph.

"Yo, take it easy," he tried to calm his brother, "We're not going anywhere."

The words made Raph less eager to get up. It somehow told him, that lying down didn't have to mean anything bad - or, that was until Mikey started babbling again.

"Unless I have to go to the bathroom, or get something to eat, or-"

"Mike?" Raph interrupted, looking up at the young turtle. He could see everything more clearly now, and could finally see is brother's face. A playful smile was attached to Mikey's features, one that Raphael had really been missing.

"Shut up."

Mikey's smile grew larger, giving him a thumb's up and the lair grew silent.

"You need to go to the bathroom?"

With a growl, Raph covered his face with a hand, not even trying to come up with a reply to Mikey.

Mike chuckled to himself, placing his hands on Raph's arm.

"Aww, c'mon bro, admit it - you missed me," Mikey looked down at him with an angelic smile, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Raph drew the hand away from his eyes, sending his brother a somewhat irritated look. But it quickly softened.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice getting stronger, "I did miss ya." He looked around the lair, finding it empty.

"Where… where's Don and Master Splinter?"

Mikey's smile grew wider. If it grew any bigger, it was going to be too large for his head. But it didn't seem to matter to the orange masked ninja. He was just happy to see his brother awake.

"Don is out getting the others," he answered, not one moment removing his hands from his brother, "Man, you scared us half to death, Raph. When we found you and Leo, we-" Raphael's face made Mikey stop.

"Raph?"

"I'm sorry," Raph turned his face away, shutting his eyes tightly, "I - I know I'm to blame for all this." His body was shaking. The mentioning of his brother's name made the reality push its way to him, making him remember every detail from the night. The sound of gun firing was the worst. Why couldn't he have saved Leo?

"Raph, listen…" Mikey tried, but his words didn't make it to Raph, he could feel it. And it hurt. Seeing his brother so worn out was almost worse than Leo thinking, he didn't deserve to live. Raph seemed so - small suddenly. Perhaps it was the lack of anger. Leonardo had taken the blame, just like he always did, but Raph… it wasn't supposed to be like this. His grab around Raph's arm grew stronger, as to trying and get the turtle's attention.

Raph pushed himself upwards, holding his breath to try to fight the pain that screamed for him to lie down again - but he couldn't. Lying down on the couch made him feel vulnerable.

Mikey helped his brother up, knowing that he wouldn't be able to push him down again. And it would have seemed wrong to hold him down against his will, especially now. He could see the tears glistening in his brothers eyes and as they ran down his face.

"It's my fault he's dead, you know that," Raphael, clunged to his knees, holding them up against his plastron.

Mikey tried to swallow the large knob sitting in his throat, but it was stuck. Raph didn't know that Leo was alive…

"I need to tell you something…"

"I don't wanna hear it," Raph whispered, placing his forehead on the knees. He couldn't stand the thought of knowing what condition, they had found Leo in. Especially not, if it meant that his brother hadn't died immediately, that he had been lying on the red carpet suffering. How long could he have been lying there? And without crying out in pain. Wouldn't he have heard?

Or perhaps the Shredder had mutilated his body afterwards in a sickening attempt to satisfy his sadistic behavior. Cut out his guts to taste his brother's blood. But then, why hadn't he killed him too?

"Please Raph," Mikey said in a soft voice, holding around his brother to comfort him. A hand slowly crept up to take a hold on Mikey's arm, as Raph pushed himself closer to the turtle holding him.

All Michelangelo could do, was listening to the sobs coming now and then. He had lost the words, he was going to say, he had lost the firm grip around himself, that he had thought was gained. He wasn't tough enough to do this. He was loosing it, as a tear fought its way to the surface.

As he heard footsteps behind him, he slowly let go of the older turtle, letting Raph see who was coming. Raph looked up, speechless. His heart almost stopped beating, as Leo stood not far away from him with Splinter right by his side.

"No…" Raph whispered, regaining his breath. It couldn't be true, he was dreaming. Leo, Splinter, Mikey, they were all just familiar faces in a weird dream. Maybe he was dead. Death seemed a lot like living - perhaps a little too much…

"Raph, it's alright," Leo smiled, taking a few steps closer to the couch.

Raphael shut his eyes. If this was real, and not just some wicked dream, he should be able to touch him, right? With great effort, he pushed himself off the couch to stand. His legs were trembling, like they would break under him and leave him on the floor.

No, not now. Raphael took a step closer Leo. And then another, until his legs couldn't carry his weight anymore. Just as he was about to sink to the floor, Leonardo grabbed him. Raphael swung his arms around his brother's neck and burried his face in the green skin on the neck. Leo could feel the tears run down his plastron.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Raph sobbed, clunging to his brother. He had been too close to losing him this time. Way too close, but he wouldn't let it happen again.

Leo slowly got Raph back to sit on the couch and sat beside him. He wouldn't say it out loud, but his legs were feeling like jelly.

"Raph," he sighed, dragging his brother away from his neck to look him in the eyes, "If anyone is to blame for all this - it is Shredder. Not me and definitely not you."

Raphael's eyes lightened and a weak smile spread on his face, as he wiped a tear away. He felt a little embarrassed by crying, but - Leo was crying too. Or, he could see one tear, but it was still crying.

"It's a Kodak moment," Don's voice replied and made them all turn to look at him. He stepped closer with the feline beside him, and sat down on the table next to the couch. He placed a hand on Raph's shoulder, knowing that his brother would be alright.

"I like you to meet the one that saved us," Don smiled, gesturing to the cat, "This…"

The winged cat stepped closer, sending Raphael a warm smile. She had been worried about him too. Though she hadn't been there for long, she felt at home. And it would hopefully stay that way. Splinter stepped up to the couch too, as the six of them now stood united - like a family.

"…is Angel…"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I can't believe so many guessed her name (okay, it wasn't that original, I admit). So, this is only the end of the beginning, as people say. Now that the story has been greeted so warmly, I have decided to keep on. This is the first part of the "Guardian Angel" series. I'm looking forward to continue, and hope that you will all give the future stories a chance too.

Sniff I love you guys...


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